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Commodity Futures Trading Commission 

CEA CASES 

NAME: LOUIS DREYFUS CORPORATION 

CITATION: 33 Agric. Dec. 1199 

DOCKET NUMBER: 215 

DATE: SEPTEMBER 5, 1974 

DOCUMENT TYPE: DECISION AND ORDER 

(No. 16,015) 

In re LOUIS DREYFUS CORPORATION. CEA Docket No. 215. Decided September 5, 

1974. 

Reports -- inaccurate -- understating cash positions in wheat -- wilful 

violations of Act -- Sanction

The stipulation of respondent Louis Dreyfus Corporation filed herein has been 

accepted in connection with its wilful violation of the Act in submitting 

inaccurate or false reports of its cash positions in wheat as found herein. 

Respondent is ordered to cease and desist from such violations, and respondent 

is denied trading privileges on all contract markets for a period of 15 days. 

Richard W. Davis, Jr., for complainant. 

Merton Sarnoff, New York, N. Y., for respondent. 

Decision by Dorothea A. Baker, Administrative Law Judge.

DECISION AND ORDER

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

This is an administrative proceeding under the Commodity Exchange Act (7 

U.S.C. Chapter I), instituted by a Complaint and Notice of Hearing issued on 

August 8, 1973 by the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture. The respondent is 

charged with violating section 4i of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6i) 

and sections 15.01(d), 19.00, and 19.01 of the regulations of the Secretary of 

Agriculture (17 CFR 15.01(d), 19.00, 19.01). 

No hearing has been held in this proceeding. The respondent has filed a 

stipulation under section 0.4(b) of the Rules of Practice (17 CFR 0.4(b)), in 

which he (1) admits the facts hereinafter set forth in paragraph 1 of the 

Findings of Fact, (2) admits, for the purposes of this proceeding and for such 

purposes only, the remaining facts set forth in the Findings of Fact and (3) in 

order to dispose of this matter without further protracted proceedings and 

expense, waives hearing on the charges in the complaint and consents to the 

entry, without further proceedings, of the order contained herein. 

Respondent denies that it has willfully committed any of the violations 

alleged in the complaint and states that any understatements in its 204 Reports 

referred to in the complaint were inadvertent and that information concerning 

certain sales of wheat omitted from the 204 Reports was not reported pursuant to 

a 20 year practice founded on good faith belief that it would have been 

erroneous and improper to report such information. 

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Respondent was, at all times material herein, a business firm with its 

principal place of business at One State Street Plaza, New York, New York; was 
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engaged in buying and selling wheat; held an open contract position in wheat 

futures in excess of 200,000 bushels and therefore was required to submit 

reports to the Commodity Exchange Authority showing the details of its cash 

positions in wheat. 

2. During the period July 7, 1972 to October 20, 1972, respondent submitted 

to the Commodity Exchange Authority 16 reports on Report Form 204 CEA in which 

respondent's fixed price cash positions in wheat were understated by amounts 

ranging from more than 900,000 bushels to more than 25,000,000 bushels. 

3. Respondent was notified by the Commodity Exchange Authority on October 30, 

1972, by letter, that the 204 Report for August 25, 1972 appeared to be 

inaccurate and, subsequently, on November 15, 1972, respondent submitted 16 

amended 204 Reports correcting the 16 reports submitted during the period July 

7, 1972 to October 20, 1972. 

4. Exhibit A hereto is a table showing a comparison of the information 

relating to wheat shown on respondent's original and corrected 204 Reports 

submitted for the period July 7, 1972 to October 20, 1972. 

CONCLUSIONS

1. By reason of the facts set forth in the Findings of Fact, it is concluded 

that the respondent has violated section 4i of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 

U.S.C. 6i) and sections 15.01(d), 19.00, and 19.01 of the regulations thereunder 

(17 CFR 15.01(d), 19.00, 19.01). 

2. The complainant states that it has carefully considered the stipulation 

and the terms of the proposed order and believes that the entry of such order 

without further proceedings would constitute a satisfactory disposition of this 

case. The complainant, therefore, recommends that the stipulation be accepted 

and the proposed order be issued, terminating this proceeding. It is concluded 

that the complainant's recommendation should be adopted. 

ORDER

1. Respondent Louis Dreyfus Corporation shall cease and desist from willfully 

submitting any false or misleading information in reports required under the 

Commodity Exchange Act. 

2. Respondent Louis Dreyfus Corporation is prohibited from trading on or 

subject to the rules of any contract market for a period of fifteen (15) days, 

except for transactions which are bonafide 

hedging transactions, and except for transactions entered into or positions held 

by L. D. Commodity Corp., a Delaware corporation, on behalf of or for the 

account or benefit of it or its customers exclusive of Louis Dreyfus Corporation 

or of persons (other than L. D. Commodity Corp.) directly or indirectly 

controlled by Louis Dreyfus Corporation, such prohibition to apply to all such 

trading done and positions held directly by Louis Dreyfus Corporation, either 

for its own account or as the agent or representative of any other person or 

firm, and also to all such trading done and positions held indirectly through 

persons or firms owned or controlled by the said respondent, or otherwise. 

However, such prohibition shall not become effective unless, within one year 

from the date of issuance of this order, the respondent should, after complaint 

and hearing in accordance with established procedure, be found to have violated 

the Commodity Exchange Act or regulations thereunder by reason of acts other 

than those constituting the basis for the charges brought in this proceeding, in 

which event a supplemental order in this proceeding may be issued, without 

further notice, making effective forthwith the aforesaid prohibition, which 

shall be in addition to any sanction which may be imposed as a result of such 

subsequent violation. 

3. Pursuant to the amended Rules of Practice governing proceedings under the 

Commodity Exchange Act, this decision and order becomes final * without further 
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procedure thirty-five (35) days after service hereof, unless appealed to the 

Secretary by a party to the proceeding within thirty (30) days after service, as 

provided in sections 0.16 and 0.18 of the amended Rules of Practice published in 

the Federal Register of August 20, 1973 (38 F.R. 22381). 

4. A copy of this decision and order shall be served upon each of the parties 

and upon each contract market. 

* The Decision and Order became final September 5, 1974. -- Ed. 

EXHIBIT A

(In bushels 000) 

Date Per original Per corrected 204 Difference 

as of 204 reports report submitted (amount of error) 

November 15, 

1972 

Long Short Long Short Long Short 

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) 

1972 

July 7 3,738 1,855 5,646 5,197 1,908 3,342

14 6,249 29,784 8,717 32,595 2,468 2,811

21 6,500 29,980 7,429 33,595 929 -3,615

28 11,526 33,270 13,969 36,444 2,443 3,174

Aug. 4 24,946 88,136 26,712 92,312 1,766 4,176

11 35,302 89,706 39,745 93,238 4,443 3,532

18 37,438 91,521 42,475 95,716 5,03[ILLEGIBLE TEXT] 4,195

25 41,113 92,746 48,750 112,216 7,637 -19,470

Sept. 1 46,090 97,165 66,842 120,326 -20,752 -23,161

8 47,073 96,778 67,730 119,556 -20,657 -22,778

15 57,618 97,817 83,440 122,246 -25,822 -24,429

22 60,097 106,959 84,355 126,380 -24,258 -19,421

29 66,807 105,630 92,072 126,156 -25,265 -20,526

Oct. 6 69,226 109,726 94,249 130,846 -25,023 -21,120

13 70,392 107,494 96,237 125,205 -25,845 -17,711

20 72,225 103,634 95,708 126,296 -23,483 -22,662 

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