To settle a private securities lawsuit in the US alleging Libor manipulation, HSBC Holdings Plc. (HSBC) has agreed to pay $100M. The bank is accused of conspiring to rig the London interbank offered rated (Libor) benchmark. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are a number “over-the-counter” investors, including Yale University and…
Financial Firm and Its CEO Settle Life Settlement Fraud Charges The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Verto Capital Management and its CEO William Schantz III have settled civil charges accusing them of running a Ponzi-like scam involving life settlements. As part of the settlement, Verto Capital and Schantz…
Fort Worth-based investment adviser James Poe has been barred by the Texas State Securities Board from serving as a financial representative or broker in the state. According to the Board, Poe engaged in fraudulent sales practices involving life settlements.This is Texas securities fraud. The Texas adviser, who is the president…
Citigroup (C) Inc. has agreed to pay $23M in an institutional investor fraud lawsuit accusing the bank of conspiring to manipulated the Euroyen Tibor and yen Libor benchmark interest rates and Euroyen Tibor futures contracts. Plaintiff investors included hedge fund Hayman Capital Management LP and the California State Teachers’ Retirement…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Novus Financial and principals Brady J. Speers and Christopher A. Novinger with making false claims about life settlements. The regulator filed its claim in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. According to the SEC’s complaint, from ’12 – ’14,…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Pacific West Capital Group Inc. with securities fraud and other violations. The regulator contends that the investment firm and its owner, Andrew B. Calhoun IV, misled clients about life settlements. According to the SEC, Calhoun and Pacific West raised close to $100 million…
The North American Securities Administrators Association wants the Texas Supreme Court to rule that Life Partners Holdings Inc. has to face a class action securities lawsuit for selling unregistered securities. The state’s high court is set to determine whether to reverse a lower appeal court’s ruling to reinstate a case…
In Harris County state District Court, two men have received prison terms of a decade each for running a Texas Ponzi scam that involved life insurance policy death benefits. Gregory F. Jablonski and Howard Glen Judah are accused of orchestrating a nearly $30M scam involving their National Life Settlements LLC,…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed Texas securities fraud charges against Life Partners Holdings Inc. and three of the company’s senior executives over their alleged involvement in a life settlement scam. Life Partners, which is a Nasdaq-traded company, makes nearly all of its revenue from the life settlements it…
House Financial Services subcommittee Chairman Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) is encouraging the Securities and Exchange Commission to refrain from rulemaking for establishing a uniform fiduciary standard that would apply to both broker-dealers and investment advisers unless the federal agency can come up with adequate evidence to support this action. Garrett made…