Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division says that broker-dealers Blake Williams and Derek Lopez are charged with Texas securities fraud involving a number of publicly traded companies. A federal grand jury indictment charged both men with seven counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy…
State District Court Judge Stephen Yelenosky has frozen the assets of Retirement Value LLC and appointed a receiver to take control of the New Braunfels company, which faces allegations of Texas securities fraud related to the sale of investments linked to death benefits from life insurance policies. The Texas State…
Susan G. Slovak has agreed to pay $25,000 to resolve Securities and Exchange Commission charges that she committed Texas securities fraud. Slovak, a former registered representative from Corsicana, is accused of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars belonging to three customers. According to the SEC, Slovak took more than $330,000…
Commodity Futures & Options Service, Inc., a Houston-based introducing broker, has been permanently barred from the National Futures Association. The ban stems from an NFA complaint filed last year and a settlement offer submitted by the Texas broker and Bryan L. Wright, one of its principal who also was barred…
The US Supreme Court says it will not review the decision by a federal appeals court affirming the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to bar investment adviser David Disraeli from the securities industry. The SEC accused the Texan of a number of violations, including broker misconduct (such as the…
In the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Kelly Gipson and Charles Jordan for allegedly orchestrating a multi-million dollar viaticals scam (in the secondary market for life insurance). On March 22, the agency said the court had granted its…
If you are going to buy annuities in Texas, it is important that you make sure that your agent is licensed with the state and also has a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority license. You should also make sure that the annuity you purchased is legitimate and in compliance with Texas…
Claimant Leonard Claus was awarded $25,000 by a National Association of Securities Dealers’ arbitration panel for his Texas securities arbitration claim. Claus had made a verbal agreement with Jerry Short, who worked for Institutional Capital Management Inc. over the sale and purchase of bonds. Clause, who bought the bonds, was…
The National Futures Association has accepted Frontline Advisors LLC and Frontline Financial, Inc.’s proposal to permanently remove themselves as a member of the group. The Texas-based Commodity Trading Advisors and Commodity Pool Operators offered the settlement after the NFA filed a complaint against them in 2009 accusing FFI and principal…
A jury has convicted Phillip Windom Offill Jr. of Texas securities fraud. The Dallas lawyer and former SEC trial attorney was found guilty of nine counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy for his involvement in a “pump and dump” scam that sold nine companies’ unregistered securities to…