The SEC announced fraud charges against a former professional football player and others who allegedly operated a Ponzi scheme that raised more than $31 million from investors who were promised profits from loans to professional athletes. According to the SEC's complaint, former Miami Dolphins cornerback Will Allen and his business partner claimed to make loans to professional athletes who were short of cash, and promised investors that they could profit from funding the loans and receiving interest paid by the athletes of up to 18 percent. The two individuals allegedly misled investors about

IOSCO published two consultation reports intended to enhance the ability of financial markets and intermediaries to "manage risks, withstand catastrophic events, and swiftly resume their services" in the event of disruption. The first consultation report, " Mechanisms for Trading Venues to Effectively Manage Electronic Trading Risks and Plans for Business Continuity," provides an overview of the steps that trading venues can take to manage the risks associated with electronic trading. The report also provides recommendations to help regulators ensure that trading venues are able to manage a

The Futures Industry Association ("FIA") and FIA Europe issued the seventh in a series of special reports that cover the technical requirements of the MiFID II regulations adopted by the European Securities Markets Authorities ("ESMA"). Specifically, the new report offers an overview of ESMA's proposals in its Consultation Paper and draft Regulatory Technical Standards with respect to the obligation for investment firms to report transactions under Article 26 of MiFID. The ESMA Consultation Paper covers five specific aspects of market data reporting: (i) the obligation to report transactions,

The SEC announced that Director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations Andrew Bowden will leave the SEC at the end of April to return to the private sector. See: SEC Press Release.

The New York Mercantile Exchange ("NYMEX") and Commodity Exchange ("COMEX") issued a market regulation advisory notice to alert the marketplace that, pending all relevant regulatory review periods, NYMEX will permit block trading in certain products – concurrent with the launch of trading in the products on April 19, 2015 – on the trade date of April 20, 2015. Block trading for the following products will be permitted: Product Title Block Trade Minimum Threshold D4 Biodiesel RINs (Argus) 2015 Futures 5 contracts D5 Advanced Biofuel RINs (Argus) 2015 Futures 5 contracts D6 Ethanol RINs (Argus)