In the largest individual federal payout in our nation’s history, the Internal Revenue Service has awarded ex-UBS AG (UBSN) Bradley Birkenfeld $104 million for acting as a whistleblower and exposing wide scale tax evasion involving the Swiss Bank. Birkenfeld, who was released from prison last month after serving 2.5 years…
To settle Financial Industry Regulatory Authority allegations that it committed numerous violations involving dealings between investment banking and research functions, Rodman & Renshaw LLC has agreed to pay a $315,000 fine. According to the SRO, from January 2008 to March 2012, the financial firm did not have an adequate supervisory…
The United States Treasury Department has sold $18 billion of American International Group Inc. (AIG) stock in a public offering. The sale cut the government ‘s stake in the insurance company to approximately 21.5% while making it a $12.4B profit on the bailouts that occurred during the economic crisis. This…
A number of mutual funds are suing BP (BP) in Texas for common fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and statutory fraud. They are contending that they wouldn’t have paid top price for the company’s shares if they’d known the “truth.” Plaintiffs include Skandia Global Funds, Yorkshire Pensions Authority, and GAM Fund Management.…
St. Louis Rams Quarterback AJ Feeley, US Soccer Player Heather Mitts, Philadelphia Eagles Tight End Brent Celek, and NFL player Kevin Curtis have filed a securities lawsuit against their former financial advisor William Crafton Jr. for allegedly defrauding them in the Westmoore Capital Ponzi scam and other financial schemes and…
In a recent joint statement, Securities and Exchange Commissioners Troy Paredes and Daniel Gallagher expressed dismay over Chairman Mary Schapiro’s announcement regarding a staff proposal to revamp the money market mutual fund industry that she said would no longer move forward because it would have failed to garner the necessary…
According to the Study Regarding Financial Literacy Among Investors, which was recently released by the SEC, many US retail investors are confused or don’t know much about making informed financial choices and can be considered financially illiterate. The study, which was created to fulfill the Dodd Frank Act’s section 917,…
According to Jon Corzine, the ex-CEO of MF Global Holdings Ltd. (MFGLQ), bankruptcy trustee James Giddens’s efforts to be part of some of the investor class action lawsuits against the firm’s former and current executives are negatively impacting his defense. Corzine, who is also Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s (GS) (GS)…
Last week, the SEC proposed rules that would get rid of the ban against general advertising and solicitation of certain securities offerings under Rule 144A and Rule 506 of Regulation D of the Securities Act. The rules are mandated under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. Currently, companies that want…
According to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the SEC violated the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure when it deposed a third party witness in its enforcement case dealing with an allegedly fraudulent life settlements accounting scam. The case is SEC v. Life Partners Holdings Inc.…