Amaranth Trader Hunter Fined $30M

Date: Monday, April 25, 2011
Author: HFN Daily Report

Here's a blast from the hedge fund past: ex-Amaranth Advisors trader Brian Hunter was ordered to pay $30 million Thursday by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The $30 million fine is the largest civil penalty assessed by the energy regulator.

Hunter was the trader who, in the fall of 2006, blew up his fund by losing $6 billion on his natural gas trades within a matter of weeks.

FERC and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission brought actions against Hunter, another Amaranth trader Matthew Donohoe and the firm itself, alleging that they had manipulated the natural gas futures market.

In August 2009, Amaranth and Donohoe settled the cases with the two regulators by paying a total of $7.5 million.

Attorneys for Hunter were not immediately available for comment.