The New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation wants LPL Financial (LPLA) to pay clients $2.4 million in buybacks and restitution for 48 sales of nontraded real estate investment trusts that were purportedly unsuitable for elderly investors. The regulator, which says the firm did not properly supervise its agents, is also…
Former Colts Football Player Sues Bank of America for $20M Dwight Freeney, formerly with the Indianapolis Colts and currently an NFL free agent, is suing Bank of America (BAC) for securities fraud. He and his Roof Group LLC say they were bilked of over $20 million. In his securities fraud…
Lynn Tilton, the owner of the financial firm Patriarch Partners LLC, is suing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She wants the regulator to stop going after her for alleged financial fraud. Tilton claims that the agency did not abide by the U.S. Constitution when it chose to pursue its…
F-Squared Investments Inc. has laid off 40 workers-that’s one-fourth of its staff-as it continues to deal with the ongoing asset losses in the wake of the securities fraud charges filed against it by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year. During a routine examination, the regulator discovered that the…
According to “Non-Traditional Costs of Financial Fraud,” which is a new research report by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, almost two-thirds of financial fraud victims who reported that they’d been bilked experienced at least one non-financial consequence to a serious degree. The findings show other ways in which this type…
Matthew Katke, formerly of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) and Nomura Holdings (NMR) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud for his involvement in a multi-million dollar bond scam to bilk customers. As part of his deal he will cooperate with prosecutors into its investigation of…
The Investor Choice Act in Congress, A U.S. House bill written by Keith Ellison, D-Minn., is looking to stop investment advisers and brokers from obligating investors to pursue their claims in arbitration instead of going to court. The proposed legislation would bar pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts between clients…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging former VP of The Shaw Group’s construction operations Scott Zeringue and his brother-in-law Jesse Roberts III with insider trading. Zeringue has already agreed to settle the regulator’s charges by consenting to pay disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus a penalty. The SEC says that…
A district court issued a Consent Order placing a permanent injunction against the U.S. Bank National Association and mandating that the bank return $18 million to customers of Peregrine Financial Group, Inc. customers. US Bank has offices in Iowa where Peregrine, a non-bank, nonclearing FCM (Futures Commission Merchant), and its…
Atlanta, GA Man Accused of Making $740,000 for Insider Trading The Securities and Exchange Commission is filing charges against a Georgia man who is accused of insider trading and making about $740,000 in illicit profits. Charles L. Hill allegedly traded in Radiant Systems stock based on the confidential insider data…