Hedge Fund Managers and an Ex-Government Official Face SEC Charges The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed insider trading charges in a $32M insider trading scam. According to the regulator, hedge fund manager Sanjay Valvani unlawfully made almost $32M in profits for hedge funds that invested in healthcare securities…
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Basis Capital’s Basis Yield Alpha Fund have reached an agreement to settle the $1B collateralized debt obligation fraud lawsuit brought by the Australian hedge fund against the bank several years ago. The Basis Yield Alpha Fund accused Goldman Sachs of making false statements related…
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has issued a statement announcing that Patrick E. Churchville, the president and owner of ClearPath Wealth Management, will plead guilty to one count of tax fraud and numerous counts of wire fraud related to the running a $21M Ponzi scam. According to prosecutors, Churchville also used…
Ex-Wall Street Executive Admits to Bilking Friends and Relatives Andrew Caspersen has pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges accusing him of defrauding relatives, friends, and Moore Charitable Foundation of $40M. Caspersen is an ex-Wall Street executive and a member of the wealthy Caspersen family. The charitable foundation he bilked belongs…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is ordering WFG Advisors to pay a $100K penalty for charging clients too much on their investments business development companies and real estate investment trusts. The Dallas-based firm is the registered investment advisory arm of Williams Finance Group. According to the regulator, the purported…
The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico did not pay $911 million of bond payments due July 1, as expected. At least $779 million of that is general obligation bonds, which are constitutionally-backed debt and supposed to be guaranteed. However, Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla has issued a debt moratorium…
A receiver appointed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF) over its alleged involvement in a $350M development fraud. The case stems from a complaint that the regulator filed earlier this year against William Stenger and Ariel Quiros. Along with…
Ex-LPL Financial Supervisor Settles with FINRA Peter Neuberg, a former LPL Financial (LPLA) supervisor and broker, will pay a $15K fine and serve a six-month suspension to settle claims accusing him of not reasonably supervising a registered representative. According to an enforcement document signed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority,…
SEC Issues Its Second Largest Whistleblower Award U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded the ex-employee of a company more than $17M for a whistleblower tip that helped move the regulator’s probe forward, ultimately resulting in a successful enforcement action against that company. This is the second largest award that…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has filed a case against Richard William Lunn Martin, a former broker. According to the self-regulatory organization, from at least 3/11 through 7/15, and while he was a GF Investment services broker, Martin encouraged clients to invest in high-risk non-traditional exchange-traded funds so he could…