[ by Melanie Gretchen ] MF Global's days in court are far from numbered.  A former MF Global was charged this with attempted manipulation of palladium and platinum futures prices, the CFTC said earlier this week.  According to the regulator, the employee tried to to push settlement prices higher for palladium and platinum futures contracts before closing period. CFTC Findings and Allegations. On 12 occasions from at least June 2006 through May 2008, Joseph Welsh III attempted to manipulate the price of palladium and platinum futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange.  On behalf of his client, Christopher Louis Pia, then a portfolio manager for Moore Capital Management LLC, Welsh facilitated a scheme commonly known as a "banging the close" or trying to push up the settlement price of a commodity in the last few minutes of floor trading. Strategy. Welsh would place large orders to buy palladium and platinum futures with just seconds left in the closing period, toward driving settlement prices higher for both futures contracts.  Nymex platinum and palladium futures see some of the lowest turnover in contract volume on the exchange, increasing the impact of individual trades on prices. CFTC Sanctions. Going forward, the CFTC is seeking civil monetary penalties and other relief, including trading and registration bans.  To win, the CFTC will have to prove Mr. Welsh intended to manipulate prices.  By the Dodd-Frank rule's expanded abilities, in effect after August 2011, the CFTC need not prove intent. To date, the regulator settled related actions against Moore Capital Management LLC's successor, Moore Capital Management LP, and its affiliates in 2010 and against Pia last year.  He was required to pay a $1 million civil monetary penalty and was permanently banned from trading during the closing periods for all CFTC-regulated products. In addition, the regulator imposed a $25 million civil monetary penalty and restricted the successor company's trading in the palladium and platinum futures and options markets—in the closing moments of the session—for 2 years. For further details, go to [WSJ, 3/14/12].