The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has put out a an investor alert warning about possible fraud involving microcap companies claiming they are involved in the marijuana industry. Scammers are using the latest growth in the pot industry to get investors to fork over their money in exchange for supposed…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is postponing when it will send to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission its proposed new rules that would give investors a more accurate overview of the costs involved in buying nontraded real estate investment trust shares. The proposed change to NASD Rule 2340, if…
Wynnefield Capital Inc. Principal On Trial in SEC Insider Trading Case Nelson Obus, the principal of Wynnefield Capital Inc., is accused of engaging in insider trading to make his hedge fund $1.3 million. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says that he confessed twice that he received a tip that…
Ex-Deloitte LLP Chief Risk Officer Charged With Auditor Independence Rule Violations The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is charging certified public accountant James T. Adams, an ex-chief risk officer, with violating auditor independence rules. The rules are there to make sure audit firms stay objective about their clients. According to…
The SEC is investigating whether Merrill Lynch (MER) and Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) did not recognize signs that that some of their customers might have been laundering money because they didn’t do enough to find out who these clients were. Some of the purported money laundering has been linked to…
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority are fining R.P. Martin over $2 million for misconduct related to manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor). The brokerage firm will pay $1.2M to the CFTC and approximately $1M to the British regulator. The latter said the fine…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that is looking to identify and stop trading incidents linked to algorithmic abuses. The self-regulatory agency is currently conducting about 170 investigations into this matter. FINRA wants to find out if any brokerage firms either engaged in algorithmic abuses to trade or did not…
David McQueen, of Byron Township in Michigan, was found guilty of 15 felony charges, including those involving money laundering, mail fraud, and failure to file taxes. McQueen is accused of running a $46 million Michigan Ponzi scam that bilked over 800 victims. Many of them gave him their retirement money,…
Credit Suisse (C) will pay $2.6 billion to the federal government and financial regulators in New York after pleading guilty to charges that it illegally helped thousands of American clients avoid paying taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. The U.S. Department of Justice said that for decades through 2009 the…
Lawson Software Founders Resolve SEC Insider Trading Case Richard Lawson, his brother William, and John Cerullo have agreed to pay $5.8 million to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that they engaged in insider trading prior to the merger between Lawson Software Inc. and two companies: Info Global Solutions…