The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering Success Trade Securities Inc. and its President and CEO Fuad Ahmed to pay 59 investors, mostly current and ex-NBA and NFL players, about $13.7 million in restitution for losses they sustained in a Ponzi scam. Success Trade is now expelled from FINRA membership…
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a securities fraud lawsuit against Barclays (BARC) Plc. accusing the British bank of lying about giving preference to high-frequency traders. The state contends that Barclays took part in fraudulent activity related to a dark pool. The British-based bank has 20 days to…
The SEC has gotten an emergency court order against the city of Harvey. The order puts an end to a bond offering that the Chicago, Illinois suburb was promoting. Also named in the order is Joseph T. Letke, the city’s controller. The regulator contends that Harvey and Letke allegedly took…
A Financial Industry Arbitration Panel says that Stifel Financial Corp. (SF), the brokerage unit of Stifel Nicolaus, must pay $2.7 million to, Sean Horrigan. Stifel’s ex-head trader claims that the brokerage firm defamed him and withheld his bonus without just cause. Now, the panel is holding the broker-dealer liable. Horrigan…
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Jo White wants significant reforms made to the bond market. Speaking at the Economic Club of New York, White spoke about how trading in these fixed income markets are “highly decentralized.” She expressed concern that technology was being used in these markets to…
TL Ventures Inc. has agreed to pay almost $300,000 to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges. The regulator contends that the Pennsylvania-based private equity firm violated “pay-to-play” rules for advisory fees it continued to get from state pension funds and the city of Philadelphia even after an associate made campaign…
Authorities in the United States are reportedly investigating UBS AG (UBSN) for its actions in Puerto Rico. The criminal fraud investigation comes in the wake of allegations that an ex-UBS broker in Puerto Rico told clients to improperly borrow money to purchase local mutual funds that later sank. The investigation…
In North Carolina, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. said that Bank of America Corp. (BAC) would have to face government two residential mortgage-backed securities lawsuits. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice contend that the bank misled investors about the quality of loans tied to…
The state of Massachusetts has filed a complaint against Cabot Investment Properties and its principals Timothy J. Kroll and Carlton P. Cabot. Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin is charging the firm with defrauding mostly elderly investors through fraudulent real estate investment sales. The administrative complaints contends that Massachusetts…
According to Bloomberg News, the U.S. Department of Justice is expanding its probe of the foreign-exchange industry by talking to the salespersons at the biggest banks in the world. They want to know about current sales practices, including how much customers are charged to exchange currency. Over a dozen ex-…