NOTICE OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION

MEMBER:

MICHAEL IMPERIO

EXCHANGE RULES: Rule 432. General Offenses (in part)

It shall be an offense:

B.2. to engage in conduct or proceedings inconsistent with just and equitable principles of trade;

Q. to commit an act which is detrimental to the interest or welfare of the Exchange or to engage in any conduct which tends to impair the dignity or good name of the Exchange;

T. to engage in dishonorable or uncommercial conduct.

FINDINGS:

Pursuant to an offer of settlement Michael Imperio (“Imperio”) presented at a hearing on January 15, 2015, in which Imperio neither admitted nor denied the findings or rule violations upon which the penalty is based, a Panel of the COMEX Business Conduct Committee (“BCC”) found that Imperio was a COMEX member and therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the Exchange pursuant to Rules 400 and 402, and that on multiple trade dates during the time period from July 2013 through November 2013, Imperio engaged in a pattern of activity in which he entered numerous large orders in the Silver contract without the intent to trade. Specifically, he entered these large orders to observe the market’s reaction and to encourage market participants to trade opposite his smaller iceberg orders that were resting on the opposite side of the book. After receiving a fill on his iceberg orders, Imperio would then cancel the resting large orders he had entered on the opposite side of the order book, within approximately one second.

In determining Imperio’s intent to trade the large orders that were fully canceled, the Panel took into consideration the significant imbalance these orders created between the volume on the bid and offer, the percentage of large orders canceled, and the exposure time of the fully canceled orders.

The Panel found that as a result, Imperio violated NYMEX Rules 432.B.2., 432.Q, and 432.T.

PENALTY:

In accordance with the settlement offer, the Panel ordered Imperio to pay a fine to the Exchange in the amount of $60,000 and serve a four week suspension of any access to any CME Group Inc. trading floor and of direct and indirect access to all electronic trading and clearing platforms owned or controlled by CME Group Inc., including CME Globex. The suspension shall run from January 20, 2015 through February 18, 2015, inclusive.