The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission says that a federal court has issued a supplemental Consent Order of Permanent Injunction mandating that Steven Lyn Scott pay over $760,000 in restitution, a $700K penalty, as well as post-judgment interest for his involvement in a Forex commodity pool scam. It was the…
Investor Lawyers Blog
Investment Adviser, Ameriprise Financial Services Sued by Hanson McClain Over Client Information
Registered investment adviser Hanson McClain is suing Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. (AMP) and Thomas Chandler for purportedly taking confidential client data and soliciting its customers. The investment adviser says that not only is this a contract breach but also it violates California law. Chandler was formerly an investment adviser for…
JPMorgan to Pay $500M to Resolve Mortgage Settlement Involving Bear Stearns, Says Source
Reuters and Bloomberg are reporting that according to person familiar with the case, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has consented in principal to resolve a class action case related to Bear Stearns’ sale of $17.58B of faulty mortgage securities for $500 million. JPMorgan purchased Bear Stearns in 2008. The agreement settles claims…
SEC Judge Orders Two Investment Advisers to Pay Over $6.3M Related to Bernard Madoff-Linked Hedge Funds
A Securities and Exchange Commission administrative law judge says that investment advisers Larry Grossman and Gregory Adams must pay over $6.3M in restitution and fines for misleading clients who invested in hedge funds tied to Ponzi fraud mastermind Bernie Madoff. Administrative law judge Brenda Murray issued her ruling last month.…
Alternative Fund Manager Faces SEC Case, Criminal Charges Alleging $16M Fraud Involving Fake Loans and GL Beyond Income Fund
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil case against alternative fund manager Daniel Thibeault accusing him of taking some $16 million in assets from the GL Beyond Income Fund (GLBFX). Thibeault was arrested on securities fraud charges over the same matter last month. According to the SEC,…
FINRA Orders Pershing to Pay $3M Fine for Customer Protection Rule Violations
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. says that Pershing, a Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) unit, must pay $3 million for violations involving the Customer Protection Rule. According to the self-regulatory organization, for about nine months between ’10 and ’11, the clearing firm did not put aside the…
Ambac Files Mortgage Bond Lawsuit Against Bank of America
Ambac Assurance filed a mortgage bond lawsuit against Bank of America (BAC) for what it claims were losses of hundreds of millions of dollars from insuring over $1.6B of securities. The holding company says that the loans were at least partially backed by high-risk mortgages from the bank’s Countrywide Home…
FINRA Releases Priorities for 2015, Gets SEC Approval for Background Check Rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority proposal mandating that broker-dealers conduct more rigorous background checks on new hires. Per the new rule, brokerage firms must implement written procedures for confirming the completeness and accuracy of a broker’s registration data on a Form U4. Firms…
Beneficiaries of Puerto Rico Trust File Securities Fraud Lawsuit Seeking Over $4.5M From UBS Financial Services
Plaintiffs in Puerto Rico who say they are the beneficiaries of a trust have filed a securities lawsuit against UBS Financial Services (UBS). The beneficiaries’ complaint asserts that UBS in Puerto Rico breached its duty to properly manage funds linked to UBS’s proprietary closed-end Puerto Rico bond funds. The beneficiaries…
Morgan Stanley Fires Wealth Management Group Employee For Stealing Client Data
Morgan Stanley (MS) has let go of Galen Marsh, a 30-year-old financial adviser in its wealth management group, for stealing client information and allegedly making some of the data that he took available online. Some 350,000 of the brokerage firm’s 3.5 million wirehouse clients were affected. About 900 clients’ account…