Sonoma Valley Bank shareholders have submitted a class action complaint accusing the financial institution’s chief financial officer, chief executive officer, and six corporate directors of mismanaging over $40 million in loans. The plaintiffs are placing most of the blame for this alleged financial negligence, and the bank’s collapse, on bank…
According to the SEC, FINRA, and state regulators, Morgan Keegan & Company and Morgan Asset Management have consented to pay $200 million to settle subprime mortgage-backed securities-related charges. Also agreeing to pay penalties over their alleged misconduct are Morgan Keegan comptroller Joseph Thompson Weller and ex- portfolio manager James C.…
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal has revived a securities fraud lawsuit filed by bondholders of the now failed Washington Mutual Bank against JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM.N). The plaintiffs had accused the investment bank of causing them to suffer financial losses because it purchased the thrift’s assets at…
A bankruptcy settlement has been reached between JP Morgan Chase & Co. and the trustee of Lehman Brothers. Per the agreement, JP Morgan will pay $106 million in securities and $755 million in cash-that’s $861 million. This will go to the customers of the now defunct Lehman Brothers Holding. The…
A federal judge has sentenced ex- Taylor, Bean & Whitaker chairman Lee Farkas to 30-years behind bars for heading up a $2.9 billion financial scheme that led to the downfall of both mortgage lender Taylor Bean and Colonial Bank. The bank fraud cheated the government and investors of billions. Farkas,…
Brokers Kris Bradford Rhoden and Jimmy Wayne Freeman Jr. are accused of Texas securities fraud and of bilking investors of millions. The two registered representatives allegedly took part in the improper sale of life settlement notes. They are also accused of lying to their employer, PlanMember Securities Corp, about the…
Merrill Lynch, a unit of Bank of America Corp. (BAC) is now the defendant of a class action securities fraud lawsuit filed on behalf of at least 1,800 investors. A federal judge certified the class status, which involves all investors in mortgage-backed securities that were sold beginning February 2006 through…
U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff has ruled that Merrill Lynch must face a class action securities fraud lawsuit over mortgage-backed securities. The class of at least 1,800 investors consists of the buyers of 31 tranches of MBS in 18 different offerings that were sold between February 2006 and September…
The House Appropriations Committee has voted to approve an appropriations bill to bill fund the Securities and Exchange Commission for fiscal year 2012 at $1.185 billion. The appropriations level is equivalent to what the SEC was given for FY 2011. However, it is $222 million less than what the White…
Winifred Jiau, a Fremont, California consultant, has been convicted of insider trading and conspiracy. The network consultant was accused of selling technology company secrets to hedge fund traders for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The trial against Jiau was the first one involving an expert network firm. Primary Global Research…