CFTC v. Nicholas Cosmo et al., Case No. 2:09-cv-00351-KDW-ARL (E.D.N.Y).  On October 25, 2012, the CFTC announced it obtained a default judgment against Nicholas Cosmo.  Cosmo had engaged in a scheme to solicit investors to invest in bridge loans.  Instead, he used investor money to trade commodity futures that resulted in millions of dollars in trading losses that were never disclosed to investors.  The default order requires Cosmo to pay a $240 million civil monetary penalty, imposes trading and registration bans, and bars Cosmo from engaging in any commodity futures trading activity.  In a related criminal case, Cosmo was sentenced to 300 months in prison and ordered to pay in excess of $179 million to investors.