Former Eastern Washington rancher Cody Easterday faces a permanent trading ban. The rancher was involved in a massive fraudulent cattle scheme. He will also pay a $1 million fine to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as part of a consent agreement filed in federal court.
<p><span>One of the Commission’s core functions is to ensure that derivatives markets have integrity and that there is no market manipulation and excess speculation that can artificially increase prices. This function is particularly important since the pandemic when families have faced hard choices at the grocery store given increased costs of food. In order to prevent excessive speculation, the Commission requires limits on trader positions—limits set by exchanges, and enforced against market participants.</span></p>
MIL-OSI USA: Federal Court Orders Washington Rancher to Pay $1 Million Penalty for Phantom Cattle Scheme, Position Limit Violations foreignaffairs.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from foreignaffairs.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
<p><span>Today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington issued an order granting a permanent injunction to resolve pending litigation against Cody Easterday (Consent Order). Easterday had previously been charged by the Commission for engaging in fraud in connection with the sale of more than 200,000 head of “ghost” cattle—which did not, in fact, exist—to Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. (Tyson), a beef processor and part of a corporate family that together constitute one of the largest food suppliers in the world, as well as with making false statements to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and violating exchange-set position limits.</span><span> As a result of Easterday’s fraud, Tyson paid him and his feedyard, Easterday Ranches, Inc. (Easterday Ranches), more than $233 million to which they were not entitled.</span></p>