CFTC actions against affiliate marketers David Sechovich and Peter Szatmari (binary options fraud, 2019)

Judgment entered

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In October 2019, the CFTC announced a settled order against affiliate marketer David Sechovich (about US$1.8 million in restitution and a penalty of more than US$949,000) and a federal complaint against Peter Szatmari, both over fraudulent solicitation for binary options brokers.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

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Disgorgement

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Prejudgment interest

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Total relief

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Alleged gain

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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 7, 2019 as release 8047-19. The respondents named are David Sechovich and Peter Szatmari (2 individuals, 0 entities).

Both men are described as producing millions of fraudulent solicitations that steered retail customers to unregistered off-exchange binary options brokers. The release describes no trading by either.

This library applies no technique tag to the matter. The conduct is solicitation fraud and does not involve wash trading or any trading by the respondents.

Sechovich agreed to return over $1.8 million to defrauded customers, to a penalty of more than $949,000, and to trading and registration bans. The Szatmari action was filed that day and is separate.

Sechovich consented to the order; the complaint against Szatmari was an allegation when announced.

Timeline

1. 2019-10-07 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
• 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.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.