In federal court in New Jersey, a jury has found former investment manager Vincent P. Falci guilty of securities fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud related to a $10B Ponzi scam that defrauded over two hundred of his former clients, including Falci’s own relatives, friends, business associates, police officers,…
Prosecutors in Malaysia have filed criminal charges against a number of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) units and several people over a massive multibillion-dollar bond fraud involving the sovereign wealth fund the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The individuals charged including former Goldman managing directors Roger Ng Chong Hwa and Tim…
Former HCR Wealth Advisors financial adviser Admits to Defrauding Pro Athlete of $1.2M Jeremy Joseph Drake, an ex-HCR Wealth Advisors financial adviser, has agreed to a consent judgment in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against him in which he admits that he defrauded a pro athlete and his…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is ordering Merrill Lynch to pay $300K after finding that it did not properly supervise former broker Eva Weinberg, who went to prison for defrauding former NFL football player Dwight Freeney. Merrill, which is now a wholly-owned Bank of America (BAC) subsidiary, consented to…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended former Securities America broker Michael D. Jackson for six months following allegations that he traded options in one client’s account without telling the brokerage firm. Securities America has since fired Jackson. According to the self-regulatory authority (SRO), in 2016, the ex-Securities America…
Former MRI International Head is Found Guilty in $1.5B Ponzi Scam Edwin Fujinaga, the ex-CEO of medical billings collections company MRI International, has been convicted of multiple counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced earlier this year. According to the release issued…
Steven Pagartanis, an ex-New York broker with Lombard Securities, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and mail fraud in a Ponzi scam that went on for more than 18 years and caused investors to lose more than $9M of the over $13M that they invested. Many of his victims were…
A Florida-based wealth management firm is once again in the headlines over its hiring of brokers with “checkered” pasts. According to a recent Business Insider article, International Assets Advisory (IAA), which oversees approximately $2.5B in customer funds, “proudly hires” brokers that other investment firms wouldn’t even consider, including some with…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges against Mark Suleymanov, who owns the options trading website SpotFN. According to the regulator, Suleymanov, who is a New York resident, defrauded retail investors of about $4M in a binary options scam that took place from at least 2012 to…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred yet another ex-broker for selling promissory notes that have since been linked to the $1.2B Woodbridge Ponzi scam. The fraud is believed to have bilked around 8,400 investors. According to the self-regulatory authority (SRO), broker Frank Dietrich sold 58 investors $10M of…