The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a unanimous ruling allowing investors to sue Bank of America Corp’s Merrill Lynch (BAC) and other brokerage firms in New Jersey state court even though the lawsuit cites federal laws. The plaintiffs, who are Spectrum Group International Inc. investors, claim that they sustained investment…
According to research, some financial fraudsters may try to manipulate investors by getting them to feel strong emotions so that they will hand over their money, and older investors are the ones who most vulnerable to this type of manipulation. Research was conducted and funded by the FINRA Investor Education…
Bloomberg reports that according to sources, Matt Gardiner, a former UBS Group AG (UBS) trader who was part of the instant-messaging group the federal government identified when obtaining guilty pleas from Barclays PLC (BARC), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), UBS, Citigroup (C), and JPMorgan Chase & Co.(JPM) over currency-rate manipulation,…
U.S. lawmakers have come up with a bill that will help Puerto Rico restructure its debt. The territory has been asking for help from the federal government to deal with its debt crisis. Unlike states and other municipalities in the U.S., territories are not allowed to file for bankruptcy protection…
M & T Bank (MTB) will pay the U.S. government $64M to resolve a lawsuit about housing loans. The case stems from a whistleblower case filed by an ex-M & T underwriter accusing the bank of underwriting fraud. Following its investigation, the Department of Justice said that M & T…
Government Charges Convicted Broker with More Fraud Charges Jeffrey Martinovich is charged with 13 new counts of fraud. He is is ex-head of MICG Investment Management and was convicted of 17 fraud charges three years ago. Martinovich is accused of improperly moving over $700K from a company hedge fund in…
A FINRA arbitration panel has ordered Wells Fargo Advisors LLC (WFC) to pay UBS Financial Services Inc. $1.1M to resolve a claim involving financial adviser David Kinnear who went to work for the Wells Fargo & Co. brokerage arm after leaving the UBS Group AG (UBS) unit. UBS claims that…
Houston Pension Fund Accuses Bank of Fraud In the U.S. District Court Southern District of California, the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System has filed a securities fraud case against Bofl Holding (BOFI) Inc. The pension fund claims that the bank employed illegal lending practices and depended on off-balance-sheet entities to…
Investors and HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC) and HSBC Bank PLC have settled two proposed anti- trust class action lawsuits accusing the banks of fixing yen-denominated Libor rates. The first lawsuit, which was filed in 2012, contends that lead plaintiff Jeffrey Laydon lost thousands of dollars in 2006 while shorting derivatives…
After nearly twenty years, Oppenheimer (OPY) is liquidating its Commodity Strategy Total Return Fund (QRAAX) in mid-July. The reason for the shut down is underperformance. According to the company’s website, the Oppenheimer Commodity Strategy Total Return Fund lost 49% since it was created in 1997, and average yearly returns have…