According to Harold Haddon, the civil attorney for car accident victim Dr. Steven Milo, Morgan Stanley (MS) failed to disclose to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that financial adviser Martin Erzinger had been charged with a felony. Securities firms have 30 days from the time anyone working for them is…
Investor Lawyers Blog
Goldman Sachs Sued by ACA Financial Guaranty Over Failed Abacus Investment for $120M
ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation is seeking $90 million in punitive damages and $30 million in compensatory damages from Goldman Sachs over its failed Abacus investment. The insurer contends that the broker-dealer sold a mortgage-backed investment that was designed to fail, causing investors to lose $1 billion. ACA says that not…
ALJ to Determine Whether to Revoke Registration of STS-Advisors Ltd. and Investment Adviser Representative Richard Lewis Bruce Over Alleged Texas Securities Fraud
A hearing will be held next month to determine whether the investment adviser registrations of STS-Advisors Ltd. and Richard Lewis Bruce with the Securities Commissioner of Texas should be revoked and a cease and desist order issued over allegations of securities fraud. STS and Bruce reportedly gave investment advice to…
Securities America Inc. to Pay $1.2M in Compensatory and Punitive Damages Over Allegedly Fraudulent Medical Capital Notes
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel has ordered Securities America Inc. and broker Randall Ray Talbott to pay an investor nearly $1.2 million in damages over the sale of allegedly fraudulent Medical Capital notes. Claimant Josephine Wayman had charged the respondents with a number of actions, including securities fraud,…
School Districts Files Securities Fraud Lawsuit San Mateo County Over Lehman Brothers-Related Investment Losses
12 San Mateo County school districts have filed a $20 million securities fraud lawsuit against the county and its former treasure Lee Buffington. The securities complaint says that the plaintiffs lost approximately that amount in school district funds when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in 2008. The school districts contend…
UBS to Pay $2.2M to CNA Financial Head for Lehman Brothers Structured Product Losses
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel says that UBS Financial Services Inc. must pay $2.2 million to CNA Financial Corp. Chief Executive and Chairman Thomas F. Motamed for losses that he and his wife Christine B. Motamed sustained from investing in Lehman Brothers structured products. The Motameds, who filed…
Quadrangle Cofounder and CalPERS Partner Steven Rattner Settles NY Pension Fund Corruption Probe for $10M
Quadrangle investment group founding partner Steven Rattner has settled for $10 million allegations that he bribed officials to obtain a substantial investment from New York State’s pension fund. The financier, who is a California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) outside investment partner and previously served as President Barack Obama’s “car…
Financial Services Institute Wants FINRA to Serve as SRO for RIAs
The Financial Services Institute wants the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to be the main watchdog over registered investment advisers. FSI, which represents 126 broker-dealers’ interests, endorsed FINRA in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of the broker-dealers that FSI represents are also RIAs. FSI believes that not…
SEC’s Proposal on Implementing Whistleblower Rule Draws Mixed Reactions
Comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal to implement the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s whistleblower protections have drawn mixed reactions. While some commenters think that employees of publicly traded companies should have to report alleged wrongdoing to internal compliance programs before they can be eligible…
Claims over failed tax-avoidance scheme brought under Texas Securities and Federal Racketeering Laws Against Prominent Law Firm is Dismissed by Fifth Circuit
According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the entities and individuals that took part in a disallowed tax avoidance scheme did not prove the reliance necessary under securities laws to hold Proskauer Rose LLP liable as a secondary actor. In Affco Investments 2001 LLC v. Proskauer…