Trader

As a trader had predicted, Monday’s 18.1-cent gain by May futures proved sufficient to boost nearly all of the cash market by double digits Tuesday. Physical gas got some extra support from weather fundamentals with colder temperatures returning to the Midwest and Northeast.

After 14 hours of deliberation, jurors in the false gas price reporting case of former Dynegy gas trader Michele Valencia and former El Paso Merchant Energy vice president Greg Singleton reached a verdict on some counts but not others.

A former Reliant Energy natural gas trader, who pleaded guilty last year to filing a false natural gas price data report to an industry publication, has asked the court to throw out his indictment. Jerry Futch, who faced up to five years in prison, was originally charged with four criminal counts for filing false data and was scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday (see Daily GPI, Nov. 30, 2004).

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week ordered a former natural gas trader for Oneok to pay $25,000 in civil penalties and $31,000 in restitution for his role in a fraudulent scheme to skim profits from Oneok’s natural gas futures contracts trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Monday ordered a former natural gas trader for Oneok to pay $25,000 in civil penalties and $31,000 in restitution for his role in a fraudulent scheme to skim profits from Oneok’s natural gas futures contracts trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A former Duke Energy trader, who was indicted last year along with two former vice presidents, pleaded guilty in Houston last Thursday to falsifying the company books so that he could increase his bonus. Brian Lavielle, 34, also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

A former Duke Energy trader, who was indicted last year along with two former vice presidents, pleaded guilty in Houston on Thursday to falsifying the company books so that he could increase his bonus. Brian Lavielle, 34, also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Christopher Bakkenist, 41, the last of four former El Paso Corp. natural gas traders charged with reporting false data used to calculate the index price of gas, pleaded guilty late Thursday.

Christopher Bakkenist, 41, the last of four former El Paso Corp. natural gas traders charged with reporting false data used to calculate the index price of gas, pleaded guilty late Thursday.