NOTICE OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION

NON-MEMBER:           

Gaston Berto

CBOT RULE VIOLATION:                

Rule 534          Wash Trades Prohibited

No person shall place or accept buy and sell orders in the same product and expiration month, and, for a put or call option, the same strike price, where the person knows or reasonably should know that the purpose of the orders is to avoid taking a bona fide market position exposed to market risk (transactions commonly known or referred to as wash trades or wash sales). Buy and sell orders for different accounts with common beneficial ownership that are entered with the intent to negate market risk or price competition shall also be deemed to violate the prohibition on wash trades. Additionally, no person shall knowingly execute or accommodate the execution of such orders by direct or indirect means.

FINDINGS:                    

Pursuant to an offer of settlement in which Gaston Berto (“Berto”) neither admitted nor denied the rule violation upon which the penalty is based, on April 22, 2021, a Panel of the Chicago Board of Trade Business Conduct Committee (“Panel”) found that on multiple dates between June 25, 2019, and September 18, 2019, Berto executed numerous transactions in September 2019 and December 2019 E-mini Dow futures contracts for accounts over which he maintained control where there was common beneficial ownership on both sides of the transactions. The matching buy and sell orders were entered in such a manner that Berto knew or reasonably should have known that the orders would match and thereby avoid taking a bona fide market position exposed to market risk. The Panel concluded that Berto thereby violated CBOT Rule 534.

PENALTY:                   

In accordance with the settlement offer, the Panel ordered Berto to: 1) pay a $15,000 fine; and 2) serve a four-week suspension from access to any trading floor owned or controlled by CME Group and from direct and indirect access to any designated contract market, derivatives clearing organization or swap execution facility owned or controlled by CME Group. The suspension shall run from April 26, 2021, through May 24, 2021, inclusive.

EFFECTIVE DATE:                         

April 26, 2021