What scam artists like Bernie Madoff and others like him have done to manipulate the financial system is clearly criminal. However, experts say that CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton’s recent hopes that the CFTC should be given criminal authority to prosecute fraudsters are not likely to come true. 

A panel of experts at the Futures Industry Association‘s annual conference in Boca last week agreed that granting criminal authority to the CFTC would be difficult because it would lead all of the other government regulatory organizations to seek the same. Acting Commissioner Michael Dunn said that would require a large increase in the CFTC’s staff and budget, much beyond what was already granted. (more…)