District Court Won’t Stay Derivatives Case Alleging FCPA Violations The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana decided not to stay a shareholder derivative lawsuit accusing Tidewater Inc. of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Judge Jane Triche Milazzo believes that a stay would burden not just the…
Articles Posted in Securities Fraud
Demand Notes Used to Help Pay For Ailing Real Estate Business Were Securities, Says District Court
In the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, a judge refused to throw out an SEC enforcement action against two men accused o f securities fraud. James Mulholland Jr. and Thomas Mulholland allegedly sold fake demand notes connected to a failing real estate venture. Contending lack of…
Securities Law and Congress Roundup: SEC Plans to Look at Corporate Political Spending Has Some Republicans Asking Why, Regulator Wants Lawmakers To Set Up Independent Auditor for Advisory Firms, & DOJ Stands by Its Record on Prosecuting Financial Firms
SEC Plans to Look at Corporate Political Spending Has Some Republicans Asking Why In a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Elisse Walter, a number of House Republicans, including Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), asked why the agency plans…
State of Illinois Settles Securities and Exchange Commission Fraud Charges
Without denying or admitting to the charges, the state of Illinois has settled the securities fraud case filed against it by the SEC. The Commission contends that Illinois misled investors about municipal bonds and the way it funds its pension obligations. There will be no fine imposed on the state.…
Financial Industry Representatives Settle FINRA Cases Over Securities Fraud
These financial representatives have settled the Financial Industry Regulatory turned in their Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent in the securities cases made against them by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. By consenting to the sanctions described and the entry of findings, this does not mean they are denying or…
Securities Roundup: Venecredit Fined $25K for Working with Foreign Finders, Ex-Merrill Lynch/LPL Financial Rep. Faces Fraud Charges, & BrokersXpress Broker is Suspended Over Private Placement-Related Misconduct
Venecredit Fined $25K for Working with Foreign Finders to Generate Retail Investor Business According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Venecredit Securities must pay a $25,000 fine for allegedly using foreign finders to get new retail investor business. The financial firm has now been censured for two years. The SRO…
SEC Needs to File Securities Fraud Lawsuits Sooner, Rules the US Supreme Court
In Gabelli v. SEC, the US Supreme Court has decided that in some securities fraud cases, the SEC needs to move faster when it comes to filing its case. The ruling could affect agencies nationwide. In a unanimous decision, the justices sided with two officials of Gabelli Funds LLC, who…
Lure of High Returns Make Retail Investors Easy Targets for Securities Fraud Involving Complex Financial Products
In the wake of the recent financial crisis, retail investors, especially those seeking to save for retirement and who lost much when their stock portfolios and mutual funds dropped, are feeling compelled to get involved in complex products that until recently were targeted to their more sophisticated counterparts. Many want…
Securities Roundup: Lawmaker Presses SEC to Tackle High-Frequency Trading, Approval of Nasdaq’s Plan to Payback FB IPO Investors is Delayed, & Less Investors Filed Securities Lawsuits Against Corporate Firms in 2012
Lawmaker Presses SEC to Tackle High-Frequency Trading Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is pressing the Securities and Exchange Commission to help stop the allegedly harmful impact of high-frequency trading. Writing to SEC Chairman Elisse Walter and her predecessor Mary Schapiro, Markey talked about how the Market Reform Act of 1990 gives…
Investment Fraud Lawsuit Against BlackRock Over Exchange-Traded Funds Could Shed More Light on Securities Lending
In a recent securities case, manager BlackRock is accused of self-dealing and pilfering from iShares exchange-traded funds’ securities lending revenues. The plaintiffs are pension funds Plumbers and Pipefitters Local No. 572 Pension Fund of Nashville and Laborers’ Local 265 Pension Fund of Cincinnati. They contend that a number of the…