CFTC v. Daniel Shak (spoofing, 2022)

Settled

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In August 2022 the CFTC sued Las Vegas trader Daniel Shak, alleging he spoofed gold and silver futures on COMEX from 2015 to 2018. On April 9, 2024 the District of Nevada entered a consent order that imposes a $750,000 civil penalty, a permanent trading and registration ban, and a permanent injunction. The CFTC noted two earlier enforcement actions against Shak.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

$750k

Disgorgement

—

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

$750k

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 August 5, 2022 as release 8568-22. The respondent named is Daniel Shak (1 individual, 0 entities).

This library tags the matter as spoofing, based on the conduct the regulator describes. Each tag links to a page explaining how that technique works, what statute it engages, and what penalties comparable actions have attracted. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.

The CFTC filed a civil complaint alleging Shak spoofed gold and silver futures on COMEX from 2015 to 2018, seeking penalties, disgorgement and a trading ban.

The conduct is recorded against commodities and futures, with CME identified in the release.

Outcome. CFTC Press Release 8891-24 (April 11, 2024) says the court entered a consent order on April 9, 2024 resolving the August 2022 complaint. The order imposes a civil monetary penalty of $750,000, permanently prohibits Shak from trading in commodity interests and from registering with the CFTC in any capacity, and permanently enjoins him from further violations of the spoofing and manipulative-scheme prohibitions. The order, as described by the CFTC, finds that he repeatedly placed gold and silver futures orders he intended to cancel; those findings come from a consent order and the release does not say whether he admitted them. The release also records earlier CFTC actions against him in 2013 and 2015 and the CFTC enforcement director's statement that recidivism drove the penalty.

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.

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

Timeline

1. 2022-08-05 CFTC release published
2. 2024-04-09 Consent order entered ($750,000 civil penalty, permanent trading and registration ban)

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
• CFTC press release 8891-24 (consent order)

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.

Same matter

The library links these 2 records because they appear to concern one matter: the same lead defendant, an overlapping technique tag and close filing dates, or a shared court docket or a release that cites the other. Records are listed by date filed.

This grouping is the library's, made by matching names, techniques, dates and citations when the site is built. It is not the regulator's or a court's determination that the records are one case, and it errs towards missing a link rather than making a false one.

Related actions

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

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.