The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against ex-financial adviser Dawn Bennett accusing her of bilking investors, making Ponzi-like payments, and spending clients’ funds on herself. According to the regulator, Bennett and her DJB Holdings LLC raised over $200M through the sale of notes issued to at least…
Federal Judge Orders Tim Durham to Pay $1. 3M in Securities Fraud Case Five years after he was convicted of securities fraud, businessman Tim Durham has been ordered by a federal judge to pay $1.3M in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil case against him. Durham bilked over 5,000…
A new survey conducted by the North American Securities Administrators Association found that there was been an increase in senior financial fraud incidents, with 97% of incidents going unreported until serious harm has occurred. The survey respondents, all state securities regulators, noted a 29% rise in complaints or cases involving…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has brought investment adviser against Jeremy Joseph Drake. He is accused of bilking a known professional athlete and his wife, making about $900K in compensation in the process. At the time of the purported financial fraud, Drake worked with HCR Wealth Advisers. According to…
Investment Firm and Its CEO Are Expelled and Barred for Inflating the Price of Shares Before Selling Them The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has expelled Hallmark Investments and barred Steven G. Dash, who is the firm’s CEO, over a securities scam that involved selling stocks at inflated prices. According to…
Jason Galanis, an ex-investment banker, who is already serving eleven years behind bars for stock rigging, has been sentenced to five years in prison for fraud involving a Native American tribal bond. He must forfeit over $43M and pay nearly $44M of restitution. In the tribal bond scam, Galanis and…
A jury has found former pharmaceutical CEO and hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli guilty of securities fraud in connection with his two hedge funds, MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare, as well as of conspiracy to commit securities fraud involving shares of the drug company Retrophin, which he founded. Prosecutors had…
Ex-Gerova Financial Group Head is Sentenced in $72M Fraud Gary Hirst, the former president of Gerova Financial Group who was convicted of securities fraud and wire fraud last year, has been sentenced to six years behind bars. Hirst defrauded Gerova shareholders when he secretly gave away almost $72M of company…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against four former brokers for allegedly persuading federal employees to roll over holdings from federal retirement accounts into variable annuity products that charged higher fees. Their targets were Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) participants. The plan is administered by the Federal Retirement…
Businessman Accused of Taking Investors’ Money That Was Supposed to Go Toward Fighting Cancer In a complaint brought by the SEC, the regulator has filed securities fraud charges against Patrick Muraca, a Massachusetts businessmen, accusing him of misappropriating investments that were supposed to go toward helping to develop cancer diagnostic…