In the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Puerto Rico bond fraud case against ex-UBS Puerto Rico broker Jose Ramirez, a federal judge has found that Ramirez committed fraud and was in violation of securities laws when he directed customers to use lines of credit to purchase Puerto Rico closed-end funds. …
Investor Lawyers Blog
Recent Criminal Securities Fraud Cases: Ex-OmniView Capital Advisers CEO is Convicted in $300M Fraud, Jury Finds Former-Wilmington Trust Executives Guilty, and Jury Finds Two Hedge Fund Professionals and a Health Consultant Guilty in Insider Case
$300M Stock Scam Allegations Lead to Guilty Verdict A Brooklyn jury has convicted ex-OmniView Capital Advisors LLC CEO Abraxas J. Discala of conspiracy, wire fraud, and securities fraud in a $300M market rigging scam/ pump-and dump fraud. A second defendant, lawyer Kyleen Cane, was acquitted after initially being charged with…
LPL Financial Agrees to Pay $26M Over Unregistered Securities to State Securities Regulators
In an agreement reached with the North American State Securities Administrators Association, LPL Financial (LPLA) will pay $26M in fines to a number of US states and jurisdictions over unregistered securities sales going back more than a decade. NASAA reports that the settlement comes after a task force was set…
Massachusetts Hedge Fund Manager Sentenced to Prison for Investor Fraud
Yasuna Murakami, a hedge fund manager who oversaw MC2 Capital Management LLC And MC2 Canada Capital Management LLC, is sentenced to six years in prison for fraud. Prosecutors accused him of defrauding hedge fund investors. Additionally, Murakami, must pay over $10.5M in investor restitution. Police arrested the Massachusetts hedge fund manager last year. When pleading…
Ex-UBS Official Recounts How the Bank Got Investors to Take on More Puerto Rico Debt
A former UBS (UBS) banking official is claiming that Wall Street banks like his previous employer played a key role in the Puerto Rico economic crisis that has left the U.S. territory more than $70 billion in debt and mired in bankruptcy-like proceedings. The ex-UBS official, Carlos Capacete, was interviewed…
$85M Ponzi Scam Allegedly Defrauded at Least 150 Investors
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges in an alleged $85M Ponzi scam that may have defrauded at least 150 investors. The defendants in the civil case are Arthur Lamar Adams and his Madison Timber Properties, LLC. Prosecutors have brought a parallel criminal case against Adams charging…
Panasonic Settles Accounting Fraud and FCPA Violation Charges For $280m
Panasonic Fined by United States in Bribery Scheme Panasonic Corp. will pay over $143M in disgorgement plus prejudgment interest to resolve a US Securities and Exchange Commission case involving a bribery scheme, accusing the company of accounting fraud violations and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Panasonic consented to…
JB FINANCIAL RESOURCES ORDERED TO PAY $750K OVER $1.2B WOODBRIDGE PONZI SCAM
According to New Jersey’s Attorney General’s Office and Division of Consumer Affairs, JB Financial Resources and its owner Jeffrey Mitchell Isaacs must pay a $750K for allegedly selling NJ investors over $7M in unregistered securities connected to the $1.2B Woodbridge Ponzi Scam. More than 8,500 people are said to have…
SECURITIES CASES: YAHOO AGREES TO PAY $35M TO SETTLE CHARGES AND A BIOTECH START UP IS ACCUSED OF ISSUING MISLEADING INFORMATION
Altaba is Fined $35M For Not Disclosing World’s Largest Data Breach Altaba, formerly Yahoo! Inc., will pay a $35M penalty in a data breach settlement to resolve US Securities and Exchange Commission charges accusing the entity of misleading investors because it did not disclose a major cyber-security data breach. Despite…
$22M HEDGE FUND FRAUD LEADS TO SEC BAN FOR MONEY MANAGER
Michael Scronic Pleads Guilty in Ponzi Scheme Michael Scronic, who touted himself as the hedge fund manager of the unregistered Scronic Macro Fund, has agreed to a US Securities and Exchange Commission ban permanently blocking him from buying or selling securities. In a parallel criminal case, Scronic pleaded guilty to…