CFTC Resolves Fraud Action Against Matthew Clark with Over $14 Million in Restitution and Disgorgement

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas entered a consent order against Houston, Texas resident Matthew Clark. The order resolves CFTC claims concerning Clark's misappropriation of confidential information and his orchestration of illegal kickback schemes to defraud his employer. Under the terms of the consent order, Clark is required to pay $7,709,509 in restitution to cover his employer's losses resulting from the kickback scheme, alongside $6,532,360 in disgorgement representing his gains from both schemes. In addition to the monetary penalties totaling more than $14 million, the court imposed a permanent ban prohibiting Clark from trading and from seeking CFTC registration. The consent order concludes the civil litigation initiated by the CFTC in February 2022. The regulator had previously taken enforcement actions against other participants tied to the conduct, including settling charges against broker Mathew Webb in June 2021 and securing a consent order against proprietary trader Peter Miller in December 2025 for his role in the misappropriation scheme. In a parallel criminal proceeding brought by the Department of Justice in February 2022, Clark was charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, insider trading, and prohibited commodities transactions based on the same conduct. Clark pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced in June 2024 to six years and six months in prison, along with orders to pay $7,709,509 in restitution and $6,532,360 in criminal forfeiture.