In multiple federal civil complaints alleging binary options fraud, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing a number of marketers of defrauding at least 75,000 investors—including retired investors and other retail investors, through the use videos that made false promises that they could make money fast. Investors were allegedly…
Citigroup Must Pay Over $12M Over Dark Pool Allegations To settle Securities and Exchange Commission that it misled users of a dark pool run by an affiliate, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI) and the affiliate, Citi Order Routing and Execution (CORE), will pay $12M. The regulator contends that Citigroup (C)…
Thomas J. Caufield, an investment advisor and the owner of and a Dallas-based investment education franchise, is now barred by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator recently charged Caufield with investor fraud, accusing him of lying to over 30 investors in a $6.8M offering fraud. According to the SEC,…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is ordering TD Ameritrade Inc. (AMTD) to pay a $500K fine for not submitting mandatory suspicious activity reports (SARs) even after the broker-dealer stopped doing business with 111 independent investment advisers. The regulator contends that between 2013 and September 2015, the firm ended its…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing brokers Jovannie Aquino and Emil Botvinnik of fraud that allegedly cost investors about $3.6M. According to the regulator, Botvinnik, who is a Florida resident and is no longer a registered representative, and Aquino who is a New York resident, recommended frequent, short-term…
Former Michigan Financial Adviser Faces SEC Charges in $2.7M Investment Scam that Defrauded Seniors The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges against Ernest J. Romer III, a former Michigan-based financial adviser with 47 disclosures on his Broker-Check record and who was barred by FINRA last year. Romer…
U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein is refusing to grant class action certification to a group of investors suing UBS Puerto Rico over its sale of proprietary closed-end mutual funds. In particular, the class action complaint dealt with a series of 23 closed-end bond funds that UBS Puerto Rico developed…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced this month that it is granting $55.5M in whistleblower awards to three people—two of them over the same enforcement action. These latest awards means that 58 whistleblower have been collectively awarded $322M since the regulator began issuing these in 2012. In the same…
Steele Financial is Accused of Investor Fraud The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against investment advisory firm Steele Financial Inc. and its owner Tamara Steele. According to the regulator, they allegedly sold $13M of risky securities to over 120 advisory clients. A lot of these clients…
The SEC has filed fraud charges against hedge fund adviser Gregory Lemelson and his Massachusetts based investment advisory firm Lemelson Capital Management LLC. The regulator is accusing them of illegally profiting over $1.3M from an alleged short-and-distort scheme that involved Ligand Pharmaceuticals. According to the hedge fund fraud allegations, Lemelson…