Legal Question in Securities Law in New York

Re: My commodity account

Expanding on the previous response, if the broker was not authorized to make trades in your account without your permission, then you must complain about it quickly. Courts and arbitrators will not help investors who discover unauthorized trading, but wait to see if the trades become profitable before complaining. If you wait too long, you will "ratify" the trade and have to live with it.

Re: My commodity account

Assuming you did not sign a discretionary account agreement, you should immediately write (certified mail would not be a bad idea) to the firm (management or compliance, not the broker), detailing your complaint and directing them to stop trading in your account. You should also determine whether you lost any money, and if so, how much. You should then consult a securities arbitration lawyer, preferably one with CFTC experience or at least one comfortable with issues arising in connection with commodities. Please visit my website at www.GelberLaw.net.

Re: My commodity account

The first thing you may want to do is review any agreements you signed with the broker to determine if he/she has any sort of right to make trades without your express permission. The next step would be to consult with an attorney about your possible legal remedies. An attorney would want to review any paperwork you signed with your broker. You may have both civil and criminal actions against the broker, which an attorney can advise you on.