The National Futures Association (NFA) has revoked the registration of Joel W Himel of Vernon Hills, Illinois, a floor trader at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).
A designated sub-committee of NFA's membership committee issued the final order revoking registration because Himel has failed to respond to allegations from NFA. Himel was notified of the charges on 27 May when NFA issued a notice of intent to revoke registration.
The notice of intent alleges that in October 2013, the CBOT business conduct committee entered an order finding that Himel failed to answer the charge that he failed to appear for two scheduled staff interviews and suspending Himel for one year beginning on 28 April 2014. The notice of intent alleges that this suspension disqualifies Himel from registration.
Additionally, the notice of intent alleges that Himel settled 2007 and 2008 CBOT cases, which alleged that he executed futures trades for his personal account while in possession of executable customer orders; and entered into non-competitive, prearranged trades in futures contracts while in possession of executable customer orders that he withheld from the marketplace for the benefit of other traders. The notice of intent also alleges that because Himel has been subject to exchange disciplinary actions in 2007, 2008 and 2014 that alleged serious rule violations and resulted in significant sanctions, his actions show a pattern of misconduct and constitute "other good cause" to disqualify him from registration.
The notice of intent informed Himel that failure to file a timely written response to the notice shall be deemed a waiver of his right to submit such a response, and that the stated allegations shall be deemed true for the purpose of finding that he is disqualified from registration. To date, Himel has failed to file a written submission in response to the notice of intent.
