FINRA Panel Orders Hilliard Lyons to Pay Damages to Elderly Client In a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration case, Hilliard Lyons is ordered to pay 84-year-old Elizabeth Nickens $445K in damages for losses she sustained from alleged churning and unauthorized trading. Nickens claims that advisor Christopher Bennett made transactions…
Us District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto has ruled that Martin Shkreli is going to be held responsible for $10.4M in financial losses sustained by investors after he is sentenced for his crimes. Shkreli, who was found guilty of two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred Jeffrey Palish, an ex-Wells Fargo (WFC) broker in the wake of allegations of senior investor fraud. The regulator is accusing him of stealing over $180K from an elderly client with no plans or means of paying her back. Palish was let go by…
In a preliminary settled reach in a private US antitrust lawsuit, Deutsche Bank AG (DB) will pay $240M to settle allegations that it conspired with other banks to rig the London interbank offered rate (Libor) benchmark. The plaintiffs in the Libor manipulation lawsuit are “over-the-counter” investors that engaged directly in…
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel has awarded five people $521,000 in compensatory damages in their Puerto Rico bond fraud case against UBS Financial Services (UBS) and UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico (UBS-PR). The claimants had accused the financial firm of securities fraud, constructive fraud, common law fraud,…
In its first customer protection advisory regarding pump-and-dump scams involving virtual currencies, tokens, or digital coins, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission cautioned that even seasoned investors could be targeted. The regulator recommended that customers do a good job of researching prospective investments, learn the signs of possible investment fraud,…
SEC Accused Investment Adviser of Profiting from Cherry Picking The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil fraud case against Strong Investment Management, which is a California-based investment adviser, and its president/owner Joseph B. Bronson. The regulator is accusing them of running a cherry picking scam that…
Medical Products Executives Settle Insider Trading Charges The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that insider trading settlements have been reached with two ex-In Home Medical Solutions LLC officers, who are also board members. Todd M. Lavelle and Ara Chackerian are accused of illegally trading in Emeritus Corp. based…
Scottrade is Accused of Improper Sales Practices Involving Retirement Accounts Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin has filed a complaint against Scottrade accusing the brokerage firm of engaging in improper sales practices that it knew violated the US Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule regarding impartial conduct standards. Under the…
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will pay $30M to one whistleblower who provided information that brought about the $367M asset management settlement in a case against JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM). Federal regulators alleged that the bank didn’t tell wealth management clients about conflicts of interests that may have affected…