Dodd-Frank Expands CFTC Jurisdiction, Court Says in Precious Metal Fraud Case

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act expanded the reach of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s enforcement authority, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held April 15 (CFTC v. Hunter Wise Commodities, LLC, 2014 BL 103954, 11th Cir., No. 13-10993).

Deciding a question of first impression “in this or any circuit,” the court found that the Dodd-Frank Act’s grant of authority for the Commission to regulate retail commodity transactions offered “on a leveraged or margined basis,” 7 U.S.C. §2(c)(2)(D), intended to expand its jurisdiction beyond the grant of authority in Section ...