US District Court Judge William Pauley III has approved a $335M settlement in a securities fraud case against Bank of America (BAC). This one of the largest class action settlements involving securities buyer claims related to the 2008 financial crisis. Among the investors that will be able to avail of…
Two Men Are Accused of Scamming Indiana Investors in More than $3.5M Ponzi Scam Prosecutors are charging two Indiana men with securities fraud involving a Ponzi scam. They claim that Richard E. Gearhart and his business partner George R. McKown sold securities to investors who moved their annuities, pensions, cash,…
A Brazilian-based petrochemical maker that trades its stock in US markets has arrived at a $95M global settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the US Justice Department, and authorities in Switzerland and Brazil. Braskem SA is accused of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and generating fake books…
UBS Financial Services (UBS) has terminated the employment of Connecticut broker Phil Fiore Jr. The broker-dealer says that even while Fiore was under heightened supervision he did not tell the firm about his outside business activities. UBS contends that he violated firm policies, such as not disclosing that he was serving…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is barring a number of market participants from the penny stock industry for their involvement in a number of purportedly fake initial public offerings of microcap stocks. The regulator says that investors were bilked because of these schemes. Among those barred is Newport Beach,…
Even after more than three years since the Puerto Rico bonds and closed-end bond funds originally dropped in their initial value, many investors are still waiting to recoup losses they sustained from investing in these securities. Meantime, the U.S. territory continues to deal with its financial woes as it struggles to…
Federal Prosecutors in Manhattan have filed criminal charges against Navnoor Kang, a former investment manager at the New York State Common Retirement Fund, and broker Deborah Kelley. The two of them are accused of directing over $2B in business to two broker-dealers in return for bribes, including money, expensive jewelry,…
The US government has arrived at multibillion-dollar settlements with Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) and Deutsche Bank AG (DB) to settle allegations involving toxic securities. It also has filed a separate lawsuit against Barclays (BARC) over its alleged sales of toxic mortgage-backed securities. In the Deutsche Bank case, the US…
Texas First Financial CEO is Arrested For Fraud Authorities have arrested Bobby Eugene Guess, an ex-Texas-based registered representative and the CEO and founder of Texas First Financial, for financial fraud. Guess promoted himself as a financial expert through financial seminars and radio promotions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He is accused…
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission says that Convergent Wealth Advisors must pay a civil penalty of $800K related to a commodity pool run by its former CEO David Zier. Zier committed suicide in 2014. That was also the year that a regulatory probe was begun around the private fund ZAM LLC…