The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is barring Nicholas Rowe, the former owner of registered investment advisor Focus Capital Wealth Management, from the industry. The charges come in the wake of parallel proceedings in New Hampshire where state regulators barred him from being licensed as an investment adviser. The New…
U.S. District Judge Judge Gregory Woods in Manhattan says that Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) must face a residential mortgage-backed securities fraud lawsuit holding the bank liable for $1.12B of investor losses. Royal Park Investments SA/NV, which is a Belgian investment fund, may now proceed with its claims,…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred broker George Johnson from the industry. The regulator is accusing him of market manipulation involving the artificial inflation of a penny stock’s value. FINRA claims that Newport Coast Securities, which is the last firm where Johnson worked, let its brokers engaging in churning.…
InvestmentNews reports that according to a new working paper by business school professors at the University of Minnesota and the University of Chicago, 7% of financial advisers have been subject to discipline for misconduct. The study noted that at certain large firms, the trend of misconduct exceeds that average. For…
The Seminole Tribe of Florida is suing Wells Fargo (WFC). The Tribe claims that the bank mismanaged its funds for years while charging it millions of dollars in fees that were not warranted. The plaintiff is claiming over $100M in losses. The Seminole Tribe said that it set up a…
VimpelCom Resolves FCPA Violations for $795M The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and regulators in the Netherlands have arrived at a global settlement with VimpelCom Ltd. to resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations. The telecommunications provider purportedly committed the offenses in order win business in…
Fidelity Investments has decided to suspend sales of annuities from MetLife while the life insurance company considers a possible spinoff, sale, or public offering of a retail unit that offers retirement products. According to InvestmentNews, MetLife, which is the biggest life insurer in the US, has said that the move…
UBS to Pay $33M to NCUA Related to MBS Sold to Credit Unions UBS AG (UBS) will pay $33 million to resolve a lawsuit filed by the National Credit Union Administration accusing the bank of selling toxic mortgage-backed securities to credit unions. The case revolves around MBS that were underwritten…
According to InvestmentNews, a number of independent broker-dealers could find themselves in legal hot waters, should investors decide to pursue them through arbitration for selling UDF real estate investment trusts. United Development Funding is under investigation over allegations that the UDF IV was run for years like a Ponzi scam.…
In a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration case, Raymond James Financial Services Inc. (RJF) has been ordered to pay David B. Silipigno $593,540 plus 3 years and 9 months of interest. That’s an award of about $795,000. According to Silipigno’s attorney, the securities arbitration case involved an RIA who may…