China Medical Technologies Inc. founder and ex-CEO Xiaodong Wu and Ex-CFO Tak Yung Samson Tsang are charged with securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, and securities fraud conspiracy. The two men are accused of bilking the company’s noteholders and investors of over $400M. They are now fugitives and live in China.…
ClearPath Wealth Management owner and president Patrick Churchville has been sentenced to seven years in prison for bilking investors in a $21M Ponzi scam. He also must pay restitution and perform 2,000 hours of community service. Churchville also was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2015 over the…
Ex-Oppenheimer Stockbroker Pleads Guilty in Insider Trading Case David Hobson, an ex-Oppenheimer Holdings (OPY) investment adviser, was sentenced to six months behind bars for insider trading using information provided to him by a friend who was employed with Pfizer Inc. at the time. Hobson pleaded guilty to the criminal charges…
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) panel said that Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. (“Stifel”) must pay June and Perry Burns over $100K for losses they sustained from Puerto Rico bonds and oil and gas investments. The Burns are in their eighties and they invested a “substantial” amount of their life…
Voya Accused of Not Disclosing Revenue Received for Mutual Fund Sales The US Securities and Exchange Commission said that Voya Financial Advisors (VOYA) would pay approximately $3.1M to regulators and investors for not telling customers about revenue the firm was paid related to a mutual fund program that didn’t bill…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network are investigating brokerage firm Aegis Capital Corp. The reason for the probe has not been disclosed. In Aegis Capital’s latest audited financial statement, the firm said that it has responded…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to charge Navellier & Associates with fraud. The registered investment advisor, in a Form ADV brochure filing, disclosed that the regulator’s enforcement staff had preliminarily determined to recommend that the SEC file a case. The Commission has been investigating advisory firms that…
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority securities arbitration panel ruled that Wells Fargo Advisors (WFC) must pay investor Anthony J. Pryor $357K related to purportedly unsuitable housing and energy investments. In his securities fraud claim, Pryor alleged negligent misrepresentation, negligent supervision, breach of fiduciary, and other causes. Wells Fargo denies Pryor’s…
FINRA Suspends Broker For Accepting $105K in Gifts The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has suspended a former Merrill Lynch broker, Adam C. Smith, from the securities industry for a year. The former Merrill Lynch broker, who was fired from the firm, will pay a $10K fine. According to…
In Delaware Chancery Court, investors have brought a nontraded real estate investment fraud lawsuit against former RCS Capital (RCAP) CEO Nicholas Schorsch accusing him and his partners of enriching themselves by taking revenue from the publicly traded brokerage holding company. The plaintiffs are part of the RCS Creditor Trust. They…