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Futures Magazine
James Koutoulas, co-founder of the Commodity Customer Coalition, noted, “Customers finally have a seat at the table. We are grateful to Judge Glenn for the opportunity to present our case directly to the Trustee and effect a faster, more equitable distribution of customer assets.”

The New York Post
James Koutoulas, the lawyer for the 7,000 MF clients, known as the Commodity Customer Coalition, criticized the move, saying it will subject clients to months or even years of clawback actions. Koutoulas wants his MF clients to be first in line to be repaid in MF’s rancorous Chapter 11. Currently, JP Morgan Chase is the top creditor.

The Wall Street Journal
Typhon’s Koutoulas, who is representing a coalition of several thousand former MF Global clients, said in an interview he intends to present on Wednesday a separate plan that would see all customer assets released by MF Global, using electronic account reports that had been generated daily by MF Global until a few days ago to figure out exactly how much each former client is owed. Similar records were used to arrange the bulk transfer of trading positions, he said.

Reuters
JPMorgan received a lien on some MF assets in return for letting MF Global use the $8 million in cash collateral now being used by the company in bankruptcy. That drew the ire of some commodities customers who say JPMorgan was not entitled to any lien that would pay it back before customers. A group called the Commodity Customer Coalition, led by attorney and Typhon Capital Management CEO James Koutoulas, objected to the lien in court papers on Monday.

Futures Magazine
“What is clear is that the trustee is trying to make as much money as possible,” says James Koutoulas, co-founder of the Commodity Customer Coalition. Koutoulas is representing a group of former MF Global customer and brokers and is looking for the trustee to return all customer segregated fund to their rightful owners.

Futures Magazine
James L. Koutoulas has formalized his group advocating on behalf of former MF Global customers and brokers and given it a name: The Commodity Customer Coalition, which is more than 2,500 strong and growing. And on Monday Koutoulas filed an objection to JP Morgan’s interim order that he claims could put JP Morgan interests ahead of MF Global customers whose funds are still frozen by the liquidation trustee.

Reuters
James Koutoulas, chief executive of Typhon Capital Management in Chicago, has gathered a loose coalition of around 1,200 MF Global customers who are also frozen out of their cash. As much as $55 million of his firm’s money is inaccessible. “Being tied up for even an hour is an eternity in these markets. It’s now been more than a week,” said Koutoulas, who is also a securities lawyer.

The New York Times
For decades, commodities and futures trading firms have been largely policed by the exchanges where they trade, setting up potential conflicts of interest. These profit-making exchanges, like the CME Group, oversee the very futures firms they rely on for business, a self-regulatory system unlike that overseeing the Wall Street banks, which contend with armies of federal regulators.

Futures Magazine
James L. Koutoulas, CEO of Typhon Capital Management, is upset at the handling of the MF Global bankruptcy and wants to give a voice to the thousands of customers who don’t have a seat at the table. Koutoulas, who is also an attorney, is informally representing approximately 200 clients and brokers affected by the bankruptcy on a pro-bono basis in conjunction with the Northwestern Law Investor Protection Clinic.

Crain’s Chicago Business
Mr. Koutoulas is also rounding up support from other former MF Global customers for an effort to win representation in MF Global’s bankruptcy proceedings. “It’s the clients’ money,” Mr. Koutoulas said in an interview Monday. “No one is protecting the client.”