An SEC administrative law judge found that JB Oxford Holdings, Inc. “violated the forwarding pricing rule” when it executed trades after 4pm EST at the same day price, but found the firms former general counsel was not to blame. ALJ Robert Mahoney determined that JB Oxford Holdings was involved in…
Articles Posted in SEC Enforcement
Stockbrokers and Their Firms: The Story of Bad Apples from Bad Orchards
As a former Vice President and registered representative at several major brokerage firms for 20 years, I witnessed Wall Street in action. My assessment of Wall Street is that the majority of the 600,000+ registered representatives at over 5,000 brokerage firms are fairly honest people who seek the best interest…
Defendants Ordered to Pay $14 Millions Over Alleged Prime Bank Scheme
A U.S. District Court in Indiana entered a permanent injunction against several defendants charged by the SEC over their alleged involvement in a $32 million prime bank scheme. They were also ordered to pay $14 million in disgorgement, plus other sanctions The SEC issued a release saying these defendants, including…
Fees on 12 B-1 Mutual Funds (or “B Shares”) Under Renewed SEC Scrutiny
“B Share”, or “back-end load”, mutual fund issues are being reconsidered by The Securities and Exchange Commission. The “B share” nick-name is derived from Rule 12 b-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1949, amended a quarter century ago to allow for the creation of such shares. To combat a…
Barclays Bank and its Former Trader to Pay Over $11 Million To Settle SEC Insider Trading Claims
Barclays Bank PLC and a former proprietary trader for Barclays’ U.S. Distressed Debt Desk agreed to pay a total of $11.69 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges they traded on inside information received while on the creditors committees for six bankrupt companies. Neither admitted or denied the SEC’s…
Order Banning Former Head of Bancshareholders of America from the Securities Industry Affirmed by the SEC
The order by an administrative law judge barring Bradley T. Smith, the former president of Bancshareholders of America Inc., from the investment adviser and broker-dealer industries has been affirmed by the SEC. Since 2005, Smith has been under a federal court injunction related to private security offerings made by five…
SEC Says Credit Suisse First Boston Broker’s Tips on TXU Used by Pakistani Banker
The SEC says it is requesting that the name of Pakistani banker Ajaz Rahim be added to the lawsuit charging the trading in of call options for TXU Corp that were based on insider information regarding an investment group’s leveraged buyout of the entity. The commission filed its third amended…
SIPC Insurance of Brokerage Accounts to be Disclosed to Investors But Not Explained
For decades investors have been told their accounts were protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) without being told what was covered by this insurance. Few realize this protection only provided that whatever securities and cash are in an account when a firm goes out of business would be…
Penthouse International Inc., a Former Director, and a Former Shareholder Agree to Settle SEC Charges of Alleged Involvement in a Revenue Recognition Scheme
Penthouse International Inc., Charles Samel-a former Penthouse director and executive vice president-and former shareholder Jason Galanis have agreed to settle SEC allegations that they were involved in a revenue recognition scheme. The SEC says the two men took part in accounting and financial reporting violations while at Penthouse in early…
Citigroup Will Pay $200,000 in SEC Sanctions Connected to LMWW Auction Market Misconduct
Last week, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. said it would pay a $200,000 fine to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The charges are connected to Leg Mason Wood Walker Inc’s allegedly improper interference with auction rate securities. Citigroup is LMWW’s merger successor. According to the SEC, the penalty…