Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Newcombe

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a civil complaint against the founder and chief executive officer of a carbon credit company who also was a defendant in a criminal prosecution alleging that he participated in a scheme to defraud carbon credit markets. The civil complaint asserted that the defendant violated the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations by engaging in fraud in connection with contracts of sale of voluntary carbon credits. The allegedly fraudulent conduct included reporting false, misleading, or inaccurate information to a carbon credit registry, validation and verification bodies, and others, including data regarding energy saved and emissions reductions achieved by offset projects. The CFTC sought injunctive relief, disgorgement, restitution, and civil penalties.