The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Nicholas Lattanzio with hedge fund fraud. The New Jersey man is accused of pretending to be a hedge fund manager and bilking small companies out of over $4 million. According to the regulator, Lattanzio falsely promised small businesses that he would organize project…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is charging three men with insider trading in the stock and options of Ardea Biosciences Inc. Those charged included the company’s senior director of information technology Michael J. Fefferman, his brother in-law Chad E. Wiegand, and Akis C. Eracleous. Wiegand and Eracleous are stockbrokers.…
Thomas J. Buck, the money manager who was let go from Merrill Lynch (MER) earlier this year, is the subject of several investor complaints alleging misrepresentation, unauthorized trading, and other wrongdoing. The cases could impact his new position at RBC Wealth Management. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says there have…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued an alert warning non-U.S. and U.S. investors about scammers who use fake regulator websites and identities to steal money. Some scammers have even used FINRA’s name or pretended to be employed by the self-regulatory organization. These fraudsters will typically ask for an advance payment…
Andrew L. Evans, a trader living in Canada, has consented to pay over $1 million to resolve charges that he shorted U.S. stocks in companies planning follow-on offerings and then illegally purchased shares in the offerings to generate substantial profits at little to no risk. The Securities and Exchange Commission…
According to bankruptcy trustee H. Thomas Moran II, Life Partners Holdings (LPHIQ) ran a scam to bilk its investors. The Texas company, which sold over $1.3 billion of fractional interests in individual life insurance policies to over 20,000 individuals, is accused of unnecessarily demanding that a lot of investors pay…
A federal judge has ruled that the decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission to have an in-house judge in an insider trading case was “likely unconstitutional.” In the wake of his decision, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May agreed to put a temporary stop to the regulator’s administrative case…
Sunil Sharma, a former stockbroker who hasn’t been part of the securities industry for over 10 years, has pleaded guilty to fraud charges. The 68-year-old is facing 20 years behind bars for starting what prosecutors claim was a $6 million Ponzi scam that ran from 2008 to 2014. He allegedly…
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has agreed to steps that will allow for the easier identification of brokers who have been barred from the securities industry yet continue to sell other products. The association is tasked with providing states regulatory guidance, as well as drafting model laws. It…
According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Justice and state officials are readying more mortgage fraud cases against up to nine banks, with resolutions against Morgan Stanley (MS) and Goldman Sachs Group (GS) possibly finalized as early as later this month. Most negotiations are reportedly in the…