CFTC v. Ceres Global Ag Corp. (price manipulation, 2023)

Settled

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In October 2023 the CFTC issued an order settling charges against Minnesota grain merchandiser Ceres Global Ag Corp. for attempting to manipulate July 2016 and March 2017 oats futures by building long positions near the spot-month limit and taking delivery, intending to lift the futures price and obtain cheaper delivery. Ceres pays a $3 million civil penalty.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

$3m

Disgorgement

—

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

$3m

Alleged gain

—

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced this matter on October 23, 2023 as release 8810-23. The respondent named is Ceres Global Ag Corp. (0 individuals, 1 entity).

The order finds a former officer directed traders to flip the company's short position and reach the 600-contract limit, buy back shipping certificates quietly, and take delivery, with senior personnel aware. This library tags the matter as price manipulation.

The conduct is recorded against futures.

The relief recorded in our data is a civil monetary penalty of $3 million. Penalty and disgorgement are distinct: disgorgement returns the gain, while the penalty is punitive. We store them separately so that aggregate figures across the library are not double-counted.

For the regulator's own account of the facts, read the primary document linked above. This page deliberately summarises the structured record rather than reproducing the release.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Price manipulation — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2023-10-23 CFTC release published

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• CFTC release
• CFTC order or complaint

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.