# CFTC Orders Dean Katzelis and Shahin Maleki d/b/a Essex Futures to Pay a $500,000 Penalty to Settle Charges of Unauthorized Options Trading, Failure to Supervise, and Other Violations

> CFTC release 7972-19 · 2019-07-12 · **Settlement** · ENFORCEMENT

## Key facts

- **Release number:** 7972-19
- **Release date:** 2019-07-12
- **Type:** Settlement
- **Title:** CFTC Orders Dean Katzelis and Shahin Maleki d/b/a Essex Futures to Pay a $500,000 Penalty to Settle Charges of Unauthorized Options Trading, Failure to Supervise, and Other Violations
- **Primary source:** https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/7972-19

## What this is

CFTC enforcement actions cover derivatives + commodities + crypto fraud cases. The Commission charges market participants under the Commodity Exchange Act for spoofing, manipulation, fraud, wash trades, registration violations, and pool-operator misconduct. Most actions settle with restitution + civil money penalty + a bar/suspension.


## Citation

> US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, press release 7972-19, "CFTC Orders Dean Katzelis and Shahin Maleki d/b/a Essex Futures to Pay a $500,000 Penalty to Settle Charges of Unauthorized Options Trading, Failure to Supervise, and Other Violations", 2019-07-12. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/cftc-action/7972-19.

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