Unassociated Document
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
DC 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
PURSUANT
TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of
Report (Date of earliest event reported): May
20, 2010
UNITED
STATES NATURAL GAS FUND, LP
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Delaware
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001-33096
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20-5576760
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(State
or other jurisdiction
of
incorporation)
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(Commission
File Number)
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(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
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1320
Harbor Bay Parkway, Suite 145
Alameda,
California 94502
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip
Code)
Registrant's
telephone number, including area code (510)
522-3336
Not Applicable
(Former
name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions (see General Instruction
A.2. below):
o Written
communication pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)
o Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
o Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14d-2(b))
o
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Item
8.01. Other Events
UBS
Securities LLC (“UBS Securities”) has provided USNG with updated disclosure
relating to its litigation matters to replace the disclosure currently in the
Prospectus, under the section entitled “Who are the Service Providers?”
beginning with the fourth paragraph on page 58 and ending with the third
paragraph on page 59. The updated disclosure is as follows:
UBS
Securities’ principal business address is 677 Washington Blvd, Stamford, CT
06901. UBS Securities is a futures clearing broker for USNG. UBS Securities is
registered in the United States with FINRA as a Broker- Dealer and with the CFTC
as a Futures Commission Merchant. UBS Securities is a member of
various US futures and securities exchanges.
Like most
securities firms, UBS is and has been a defendant in numerous legal proceedings,
including actions brought by regulatory organizations and government agencies,
relating to its securities and commodities business that allege various
violations of federal and state securities laws. UBS AG, the ultimate
parent company to UBS Securities LLC, files annual reports and quarterly reports
to the SEC in which it discloses material information about UBS matters,
including information about any material litigation or regulatory
investigations. Actions with respect to UBS Securities' futures
commission merchant business are publicly available on the website of the
National Futures Association (http://www.nfa.futures.org/).
On June
27, 2007, the Securities Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts (“Massachusetts Securities Division”) filed an administrative
complaint (the “Complaint”) and notice of adjudicatory proceeding against UBS
Securities LLC, captioned In The Matter of UBS Securities, LLC, Docket No.
E-2007-0049, which alleged that UBS Securities violated the Massachusetts
Uniform Securities Act (the “Act”) and related regulations by providing the
advisers for certain hedge funds with gifts and gratuities in the form of below
market office rents, personal loans with below market interest rates, event
tickets, and other perks, in order to induce those hedge fund advisers to
increase or retain their level of prime brokerage fees paid to UBS
Securities. The Complaint seeks a cease and desist order from conduct
that violates the Act and regulations, to censure UBS Securities, to require UBS
Securities to pay an administrative fine of an unspecified amount, and to find
as fact the allegations of the Complaint. The matter is still
pending.
In the
summer of 2008, the Massachusetts Securities Division, Texas State Securities
Board, and the New York Attorney General all brought actions against UBS and UBS
Financial Services, Inc. (“UBS Financial”), alleging violations of various state
law anti-fraud provisions in connection with the marketing and sale of auction
rate securities.
On August
8, 2008, UBS Securities and UBS Financial reached agreements in principle with
the SEC, the NYAG, the Massachusetts Securities Division and other state
regulatory agencies represented by the North American Securities Administrators
Association (“NASAA”) to restore liquidity to all remaining client's holdings of
auction rate securities by June 30, 2012. On October 2, 2008, UBS
Securities and UBS Financial entered into a final consent agreement with the
Massachusetts Securities Division settling all allegations in the Massachusetts
Securities Division's administrative proceeding against UBS Securities and UBS
Financial with regards to the auction rate securities matter. On
December 11, 2008, UBS Securities and UBS Financial executed an Assurance of
Discontinuance in the auction rate securities settlement with the NYAG. On the
same day, UBS Securities and UBS Financial finalized settlements with the SEC.
UBS paid penalties of $75M to NYAG and an additional $75M to be apportioned
among the participating NASAA states. In March 2010, UBS and NASAA
agreed on final settlement terms, pursuant to which, UBS agreed to provide
client liquidity up to an additional $200 million.
On August
14, 2008 the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation filed an
administrative action against UBS Securities relating to a student loan issuer,
the New Hampshire Higher Education Loan Corp. (“NHHELCO”). The
complaint alleges fraudulent and unethical conduct in violation of New Hampshire
state statues. On April 14, 2010, UBS entered into a Consent Order
resolving all of the Bureau's claims. UBS paid $750,000 to the Bureau for all
costs associated with the Bureau's investigation. UBS entered a separate civil
settlement with NHHELCO and provided a total financial benefit of $20M to
NHHELCO.
On April
29, 2010, the CFTC issued an order with respect to UBS Securities LLC and levied
a fine of $200,000. The Order stated that on February 6, 2009, UBS Securities'
employee broker aided and abetted UBS Securities' customer's concealment of
material facts from NYMEX in violation of Section 9(a)(4) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C. §
13(a)(4) (2006). Pursuant to NYMEX Rules, a block trade must be
reported to NYMEX “within five minutes of the time of execution” consistent with
the requirements of NYMEX Rule 6.21C(A)(6). Although the block trade
in question was executed earlier in the day, UBS Securities' employee broker
aided and abetted its customer's concealment of facts when, in response to the
customer's request to delay reporting the trade until after the close of
trading, UBS Securities' employee did not report the trade until after the
close. Because the employee broker undertook his actions within the
scope of his employment, pursuant to Section 2(a)(1)(B) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C. §
2(a)(1)(B) (2006), and Commission Regulation 1.2, 17 C.F.R. § 1.2 (2009),
UBS Securities is liable for the employee broker's aiding and abetting of its
customer's violation of Section 9(a)(4) of the CEA. The fine has been
paid and the matter is now closed.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto
duly authorized.
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UNITED
STATES NATURAL GAS FUND, LP
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By:
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United
States Commodity Funds LLC, its general partner |
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By:
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/s/ Howard
Mah |
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Name:
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Howard
Mah |
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Title:
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Chief
Financial Officer |
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