The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reinstated New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund v. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS), which also includes defendants Wells Fargo Advisors (WFC), McGraw-Hill (MHP), and a number of others. The decision will ease class action mortgage-backed securities lawsuits by investors.…
District Court Won’t Stay Derivatives Case Alleging FCPA Violations The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana decided not to stay a shareholder derivative lawsuit accusing Tidewater Inc. of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Judge Jane Triche Milazzo believes that a stay would burden not just the…
SEC Division Reviews Investment Advisers Act As It Applies to Private Fund Advisers Currently examining the way applies the 1940 Investment Advisers Act to private fund advisers, the Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly concentrating specifically on the areas of Form ADV and advertising. SEC Division of Investment Manager Director…
SEC Settles with Bridge Premium Finance Over Alleged $6M Ponzi The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado has approved a proposed settlement between the SEC and Premium Finance LLC, William Sullivan, and Michael Turnock. The three of them are accused of selling financing so that small businesses could…
In the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, a judge refused to throw out an SEC enforcement action against two men accused o f securities fraud. James Mulholland Jr. and Thomas Mulholland allegedly sold fake demand notes connected to a failing real estate venture. Contending lack of…
According to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Ketchum, now is the right time to make brokerage firms and investment advisers that provide personalized retail financial advice adhere to a uniform fiduciary standard. However, he warned that such a standard, whether by itself or combined with…
At his arraignment this week, Steven Palladino, 55, pleaded not guilty to multiple criminal counts of larceny over $250, falsifying corporate books, and loan sharking, as well as one count of uttering. He and his wife Lori, 52, are accused of running a Massachusetts Ponzi scam. The victims of their…
The American Securitization Forum recently experienced an upheaval when most of its board resigned over a dispute with its executive director on the topics of bonuses and governance. The group is the primary trade association for the securitization industry, which generated over $500 billion of new bonds around the world.…
Pending court approval, Citigroup Inc. (C) will $730 million to resolve claims that it misled debt investors regarding its financial state during the economic crisis. The plaintiffs had purchased Citi preferred stock and bonds from 5/06 through 11/8. They are accusing Citigroup of misleading the buyers of 48 issues of…
SEC Plans to Look at Corporate Political Spending Has Some Republicans Asking Why In a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Elisse Walter, a number of House Republicans, including Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), asked why the agency plans…