International derivatives marketplace CME Group has posted a notice of disciplinary action against Michael Cohen, a pit broker based in Chicago.

Pursuant to an offer of settlement in which Michael Cohen neither admitted nor denied the rule violations or factual findings upon which the penalty is based, a Panel of the Chicago Mercantile

Exchange Business Conduct Committee found that on June 7, 2024, Cohen prearranged and noncompetitively executed a trade in the SOFR options on futures open outcry market without bidding or offering his orders in a manner consistent with open and competitive trades.

Specifically, after receiving opposing buy and sell orders, Cohen and another broker in his broker association executed the trade without openly and competitively bidding or offering the orders in the pit.

Additionally, Cohen executed the trade at a non-integer tick price that was not explicitly defined in Rule 542. Cohen executed the trade at an unsanctioned quarter-tick price, then recorded the trade in a way to achieve the quarter tick price, without offering the specific legs and prices to the open outcry pit.

The Panel concluded that Cohen thereby violated CME Rules 521, 539.A., and 542.

In accordance with the settlement offer, the Panel ordered Cohen to pay a $10,000 fine. The Panel also suspended Cohen from access to any trading floor owned or controlled by CME Group and from direct and indirect access to any designated contract market, derivatives clearing organization or swap execution facility owned or controlled by CME Group for 15-business days, beginning on trade date June 29, 2026, and continuing through and including trade date July 20, 2026.