The Puerto Rico Government Employees and Judiciary Retirement Systems Administration, a pension plan for retirees of the U.S. territory’s government, has filed a proposed securities class action in federal court against Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C), Barclays Capital, Inc. (BARC), BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Bank of…
SEC Accuses Investment Adviser of Misappropriating Funds from Hedge Funds The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has secured an emergency asset freeze, as well as a temporary restraining order, to stop an ongoing allegedly fraudulent securities offering that was purportedly conducted to conceal the misappropriation of about $570K from…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed civil fraud charges accusing 15 people of either “acting as unregistered brokers” or “aiding-and-abetting” this kind of activity related to the solicitation of microcap issuer Intertech Solution’s “unregistered and fraudulent securities offerings.” Already, 11 of the defendants have consented to the…
The Financial Industry Regulatory (FINRA) announced that it is barring former Aegis Capital broker James Schwartz for allegedly churning four clients’ accounts. The self-regulatory authority (SRO) contends that Schwartz, who is no longer employed in the securities industry, made 256 trades in these accounts without first getting the customers’ permission…
According to the Texas State Securities Board, target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>LPL Financial (LPLA) will pay a $450K fine and buy back unregistered securities. The Consent Order noted that the settlement is part of the wider $26M one reached between the brokerage firm and state securities regulators in 2018. In its deal…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is accusing Abraaj Investment Management Ltd., a Dubai-based investment advisory firm, with misappropriating money from the Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund. The regulator said that the fraud has resulted in losses for US investors, including charitable organizations that invested over $100M in the…
Gonzalo Ortiz, an investment adviser, is facing charges accusing him of defrauding one investor of more than $570K. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ortiz appropriated about $224,500 of his client’s funds and lost about $290K through trades that he made. In its complaint, the SEC said from…
Ex-Woodbridge Group of Companies CEO and owner Robert Shapiro and former Woodbridge directors Ivan Acevedo and Dane R. Roseman are now facing criminal charges over their alleged involvement in operating a $1.2B Ponzi scam that went on from ’12 to ’17. All three men were arrested and appeared in federal…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed fraud charges against two men claiming to be pastors of a church at a strip mall in Orange County, California. Kent R.E. Whitney and David Lee Parrish are accused of targeting members of their local Vietnamese community and defrauding investors of…
Just weeks after Direct Lending Investments (DLI) announced to private fund investors that it was suspending redemptions and withdrawals after one borrower defaulted on a $191.3M loan, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed civil charges against the registered investment adviser (RIA). The regulator contends that Direct Lending engaged…