NOTICE OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION

FILE NO.:

NYMEX 13-9546-BC

MEMBER:

CHARLIE SUSSMAN

NYMEX RULE VIOLATION:

432.Q. GENERAL OFFENSES (in part)

It shall be an offense:

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.

FINDINGS:

Pursuant to an offer of settlement Charlie Sussman (“Sussman”) presented at a hearing on September 17, 2014, in which Sussman neither admitted nor denied the rule violation upon which the penalty is based, a Panel of the NYMEX Business Conduct Committee (“BCC”) found that it had jurisdiction over Sussman pursuant to Exchange Rules 400 and 402 as the conduct occurred while Sussman was a NYMEX member, and that on trade date April 29, 2013, Sussman, a trader employed by Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. (“Merrill Lynch”), failed to monitor the operation of a Crude Oil auto-spreader utilized by Merrill Lynch, minimizing the auto-spreader application and failing to monitor the order modification activity. This resulted in the auto spreader streaming price modifications and disclosing prices to the market that were not viable, requiring the Exchange to initiate a port closure on April 29, 2013.

The Panel found that, as a result, Charlie Sussman violated NYMEX Rule 432.Q. (General Offenses – Detrimental to the Interest or Welfare of the Exchange).

PENALTY:

In accordance with the settlement offer, the Panel ordered Charlie Sussman to pay a fine to the Exchange in the amount of $15,000 and have his access to all CME Group trading floors and direct access to all electronic trading and clearing platforms owned or controlled by CME Group suspended for a period of 10 business days, beginning on September 19, 2014 and continuing through and including October 2, 2014.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

September 19, 2014