Report: Corzine to face charges in MF Global case

• CFTC set to file charges against former CEO of MF Global%2C says New York Times
• Corzine denies wrongdoing%2C wonders why role of commercial banks hasn%27t been probel
• MF Global collapsed as customers%2C fearing a bet gone wrong%2C demanded cash

Federal regulators are set to file charges against former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine possibly later this week for his role in the collapse of MF Global.

Citing law enforcement sources close to the case, The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which had regulatory oversight of the mammoth money management firm, is ready to approve civil charges over misuse of client funds.

"The CFTC apparently intends to bring what would be an unprecedented and meritless civil enforcement action against Mr. Corzine," said Steven Goldberg, a spokesperson for Corzine.

According to the Times' report, Corzine, who headed the firm when more than $1 billion in customer money disappeared as the firm collapsed, will have little if any opportunity to settle charges. That would be an unusual move on the part of regulators since many cases eventually are settled with the defendant paying fines but neither admitting nor denying guilt.

MF Global declared bankruptcy in October 2011 after the firm was unable to meet client demands for their cash. Customers fled the firm after it disclosed an increased capital requirement on a $6.3 billion bet in European sovereign debt and a credit downgrade tied to a $116 million tax-deferred asset write-down in a quarterly earnings report.

The CFTC is set to allege that Corzine is liable for any MF workers who misused customer funds to help cover the firm's cash shortfall at the time of its collapse. Corzine denies that he had knowledge of any wrongdoing, Goldberg says, and believes that major commercial banks that were MF creditors did not meet all the firm's demands to convert customer funds held in short-term government securities into cash.

Corzine "continues to question why such little attention has been paid to the failure of MF Global's counterparties to fulfill their commercially contracted obligations to MF Global and the profound impact their failure had on MF Global's customers and other stakeholders," Goldberg said in an emailed statement.