Five Questions: Jacqueline Hamra Mesa

Jacqueline Hamra Mesa, a University of Missouri-Columbia law graduate, has worked for the CFTC in Washington, D.C. since 1998. The CFTC works to prevent fraud and manipulation of the commodity and financial futures markets and pushes for standards in other international markets. She was promoted in February to OIA director and serves as a principal international policy adviser and represents the commission on various international standards bodies. Mesa is the daughter of Springfield restaurateurs Sam and June Hamra, who operate Wendy’s and Panera Bread restaurants through Hamra Enterprises.

How did you go from law school in Missouri to international commodities work in Washington, D.C.?

I didn’t always dream of working here – I didn’t even know it existed before. After I graduated law school I started at the Missouri attorney general’s office, as counsel to the Missouri Department of Agriculture. When I looked for a job in Washington, I thought ‘I enjoy litigation and I had experience in agriculture, so maybe the CFTC.’ I applied here and got a job in the Division of Enforcement, where they investigate and prosecute fraud in the commodity markets.

What’s the most interesting case you’ve worked on in Washington?

It actually was in 1999, against an entity called Princeton Economics International. It involved a commodity pool – customers invest in a pooled fund with the investor, who then invests their funds in commodities. In this case, (the commodity investor) kept lying to investors, saying they were making a lot of money – in fact, he said he was making billions of dollars – and he wasn’t at all. It stands out to me because all of the investors were Japanese, and in that culture they don’t complain – there’s a great deal of trust, and no one questioned it until it was too late. Actually, (defendant Martin) Armstrong is still in jail, because he refuses to tell where the money is hidden, and the government believes he has the money somewhere.

Who are the largest U.S. partners in commodity futures trading?

By far, the number one is the United Kingdom, and then Europe, in general. Another initiative that we’re working on, for the future, is China. We’re working on training. Instead of working on issues that are currently happening, we’re trying to work with China to help open their markets to U.S. participants and develop their laws.

What commodity futures are seeing the most trading action right now, and what is the most important job for the CFTC in that market?

One hot commodity that futures traders are getting into is the energy market. The energy markets right now are very volatile, and there’s a lot of money to be made. The CFTC is focusing a lot of attention on energy, and foreign exchanges are listing energy markets at a more rapid pace. Internationally, we’re trying to make sure that we’re doing a good job of seeing the whole picture – cooperating with foreign regulators to make sure that they’re watching the energy markets from their end. From our standpoint it’s important to make sure that there’s no manipulation of the market. As a commission, we obtain daily reports of the largest traders in those markets, and we want to make sure everyone is playing fair and there’s no manipulation.

With the fears of the spread of bird flu from Asia into Western markets, is the CFTC doing anything in preparation?

We’re trying to prepare for what would happen with exchanges and with our actual offices if there were an outbreak. Luckily, everything now is very electronic, so if people had to stay at home, the consensus is that the markets wouldn’t close. But there are people who have been specifically assigned to think about those problems and come up with solutions, so there’s no disruption in trading.[[In-content Ad]]