The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s ruling to dismiss the ARS lawsuit filed against Merrill Lynch (MER), Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, and Smith Inc. ( MLPF&S), Moody’s Investor Services (MCO), and the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (MHP). Pursuant to state and federal law,…
Investor Lawyers Blog
NASAA Warns Against Crowdfunding, Investment-for-Visa Scams And Other Investment Fraud
The North American Securities Administrators Association has issued its yearly list of financial products and practices that it believes pose among the greatest investment danger to investors. The 10 on this year’s list, which was put together by securities regulators in the association’s Enforcement Section are: 1) Gold and precious…
Amerigroup Shareholders Claim Goldman Sachs Advisers’ Had Conflicts of Interest That Influenced $4.5B Sale of Company to WellPoint
Amerigroup Corp (AGP) shareholders are suing its board and Goldman Sachs Group (GS) because they say that the defendants’ conflicts of interest got in the way of other bids being considered before they agreed to let WellPoint Inc. (WLP) buy the managed care company for $4.9B. The shareholders’ securities lawsuit…
Appeal of Stockbroker Found Liable in Unauthorized Trades of Cyberonics Stock is Rejected by 7th Circuit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is rejecting the appeal filed by stockbroker Kevin Wells, who was found liable for making unauthorized trades of Cyberonics Inc. (CYBX) in a customer’s account. In an initial default judgment, the customer, plaintiff William Wehrs, was awarded approximately $49,861 in damages.…
Shareholder Lawsuit Against Goldman Sachs CEO and Other Financial Firm Executives is Dismissed
In the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the shareholder complaint against a number of Goldman Sachs Group (GS) executives, including CEO Lloyd Blankfein, COO Gary Cohn, CFO David Viniar, and ex-director Rajat Gupta, has been dismissed. The lead plaintiffs of this derivatives lawsuit are the…
Texas Appeals Court Says Letter of Intent for Sale of Fiduciary Financial Services of Southwest Stock to Corilant Financial is Not an Enforceable Contract
Reversing a trial jury’s ruling, the Texas Court of Appeals has said that a letter of intent to sell Fiduciary Financial Services of the Southwest, Inc.’s outstanding stock to Corilant Financial, L.P. and Corilant Financial Management, LLC is not an enforceable contract. The appeal’s court ruling also reverses the lower…
Securities and Exchange Commission Charges Former UGA Football Coach Jim Donnan Over Alleged $80M Ponzi Scam
The SEC is charging ex-University of Georgia football coach Jim Donnan over his alleged involvement in an $80M Ponzi scam that defrauded nearly 100 investors. Donnan is a College Football Hall of Famer who also coached at Marshall University and has worked as a sports commentator. He, along with Gregory…
Even With Securities Lawsuits Over MF Global’s $1.6 Billion Customer Funds Loss, Don’t Expect Criminal Charges
The criminal probe into brokerage firm MF Global’s collapse and its inability to account for approximately $1.6 billion in customer funds will likely end with no criminal charges filed against anyone. Sources involved in the case are reportedly saying that investors are finding that not fraud, but “porous risk controls”…
CFTC Commissioner Proposes Plan to Give Futures Customers SIPC-Like Protections
Last week, CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton unveiled a plan to give futures intermediaries’ clients Securities Investor Protection Corporation-like protections via the creation of a Futures Investor and Customer Protection Fund. Similar to the SIPC Fund, this fund would be called the Futures Investor and Customer Protection Fund, and it would…
Wells Fargo Securities Settles for Over $6.5M SEC Charges Over Allegedly Improper Sale of ABCP Investments with Risky MBS and CDOs
The SEC is charging Wells Fargo Securities, formerly known as Wells Fargo Brokerage Services, and former VP Shawn McMurtry for selling complex investments to institutional investors without fully comprehending the investments’ level of sophistication or disclosing all of the risks involved to these clients. To settle the securities charges, Wells…