TAMPA, Jul 11, 2012 (Tampa Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
A scandal at a Chicago commodities trading company could put at risk investor dollars overseen by at least two Tampa investment companies.
This week, regulators froze the assets of a Chicago company called Peregrine Financial Group. Among its duties, Peregrine processed, or "cleared," the trades of brokers across the country who trade in oil futures and other commodity futures.
The industry's regulatory group, the National Futures Association, alleges that Peregrine misappropriated millions of customer dollars that it was holding. For example, the company reported that it had $225 million of customer money deposited in a bank, but the NFA discovered it had only $5 million on deposit there.
Futures scandal snares 2 Tampa brokerages
A scandal at a Chicago commodities trading company could put at risk investor dollars overseen by at least two Tampa investment companies.
This week, regulators froze the assets of a Chicago company called Peregrine Financial Group. Among its duties, Peregrine processed, or "cleared," the trades of brokers across the country who trade in oil futures and other commodity futures.
The industry's regulatory group, the National Futures Association, alleges that Peregrine misappropriated millions of customer dollars that it was holding. For example, the company reported that it had $225 million of customer money deposited in a bank, but the NFA discovered it had only $5 million on deposit there.
Futures scandal snares 2 Tampa brokerages