(Bloomberg) — A Nevada metals trader with a sideline in the global poker circuit was charged Friday with manipulating the gold and silver markets using a technique called fraud.
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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission alleges that Daniel Schack, who also runs a small hedge fund, repeatedly placed orders for gold and silver futures contracts with the intent to cancel bids or offers before execution. Called spoofing, the practice gained notoriety after a high-profile criminal case involving several JPMorgan Chase & Co. bankers.
“These charges demonstrate once again that the CFTC will vigorously pursue, with the full rigor of the law, misconduct that has the potential to undermine the integrity of our markets,” Gretchen Lowe, acting director of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.
The announcement comes as jurors in Chicago continued their fifth full day of deliberations in the massive JPMorgan fraud case, in which three former bankers are accused of running a criminal enterprise and conspiring to commit price manipulation, wire fraud, fraud with commodities and rigging precious metals futures markets.
Shaq already has a history with the CFTC after settling with the agency in March 2015 over allegations that he traded during the closing minute of the gold futures market after being ordered not to.
Shaq, who is the founder of SHK Management LLC, is best known for competing in over 150 major poker tournament events where he has won more than $11.7 million since 2004. Precious metals investors may also remember Shaq from more than a decade ago when the Wall Street Journal reported that his hedge fund rallied the gold market after making bad bets, forcing him to liquidate the position and return money to clients. At the time, Shaq held gold contracts worth more than 10% of the US futures market.
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