According to SEC employee Darcy Flynn, the Securities and Exchange Commission is continuing to get rid of records from closed enforcement cases. If this is true, then the SEC may be breaking the law. Darcy Flynn has brought a whistleblower case over his allegations. Flynn has been an attorney with…
In the State Supreme Court of New York, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has fled an objection to Bank of America proposed $8.5 billion mortgage-backed securities settlement. The FDIC, which is the receiver for failed banks and owns the securities that the settlement is supposed to cover, says it doesn’t…
Venedie Roberto Valencia, a former Bank of America employee, is now sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for a mortgage scam he was involved in that used stolen identities to buy homes in Southern California that weren’t being sold. The sentence comes after Valencia, 27, pleaded guilty and admitted…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed securities charges against James Davis Risher and Daniel Joseph Sebastian. The two men are accused of running a Ponzi scam that raised over $22 million from over 100 investors. Many of the victims were Florida retirees and teachers that entrusted the two men…
Once again, Western and Southern Life Insurance Co. is suing Bank of America Corporation for the alleged misrepresentation of mortgage-backed securities that the financial firm sold to the insurer. This time, the plaintiff is seeking $63 million. Western and Southern Life’s first MBS lawsuit against BofA sought $225 million in…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Bluechip Securities Incorporated for Texas securities fraud over the alleged churning of public customer accounts by principal Muhammad Akram Khan. The fine against the Houston-based financial firm is $15,000. Khan, who was fined $385,000, has been suspended from associating with any FINRA firm…
Raymond James has agreed to return $31,240,000 to Indiana investors to settle allegations that it misled them about the risks involved in the auction-rate securities market. In addition to repurchasing ARS that have been frozen since the market failed in 2008, the financial firm will also pay a $63,000 civil…
FINRA has put out an alert warning investors about financial scams touting gold stocks. The name of the investor alert is “Gold” Stocks-Some Investments Mine Your Pocketbook. The caution comes as the cost of bullion reaches level highs and the increase in the number of websites, blogs, Tweets, and YouTube…
Now that the Justice Department is investigating Goldman Sachs (GS), Lloyd C. Blankfein, the broker-dealer’s chief executive, has retained the services of a prominent defense attorney. This move comes following allegations by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations accusing firm executives of misleading investors and Congress about mortgage-backed securities. News…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed insider trading charges against Toby G. Scammell, who is accused of making more than $192,000 from insider trading information he received from his girlfriend about Walt Disney Company’s impending acquisition of Marvel Entertainment. Scammell, a 26-year-old ex-investment fund associate, made a more than…