M37 Investments LLC, M25 Investments Inc., Jeffery Lyon, and Scott Kear Sr. have settled for $16.2 million Commodity Futures Trading Commission charges involving the alleged defrauding of over 200 individuals in a foreign currency scheme. Many of the investment fraud victims were senior investors. The Texas securities fraud agreement was…
At a recent New York City Bar gathering, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara said that not only is insider trading “rampant” and likely “on the rise,” but also, that identifying, probing, and prosecuting this securities fraud crime has become much harder. Bharara’s speech was…
Along with Connecticut regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Southridge Capital Management and its hedge fund investment manager Stephen M. Hicks with financial fraud. The two are accused of fraudulently overvaluing portfolio assets. According to the SEC, Hicks fraudulently misstated the assets’ acquisition price when he overvalued the…
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel has ordered UBS AG to pay two clients $529,688 over their purchase of Lehman Brothers Holdings notes. The investors, Steven and Ellen Edelson, were told that they were buying “structured products, some of which were “principal protected.” Between 2006 and 2008, the Edelsons,…
Four ex- San Diego officials will pay $80,000 in fines to resolve municipal bond charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly misleading investors. Never before has the SEC obtained financial penalties against a city’s officials for municipal securities fraud. By agreeing to settle, ex-San Diego City Manager…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking comments on whether amendments should be made to federal securities laws so that private litigants can file transnational securities fraud lawsuits. Comments are welcomed until February 18, 2011. The SEC says to refer to File No. 4-617. In its request, the SEC points…
Samuel Serritella, 66, has pleaded guilty to securities fraud. He reportedly received some $1.7 million from 300 investors. Serritella has admitted that he convinced investors to purchase unregistered shares in International Surfacing Inc. the New Jersey-based company he was chairman, chief financial officer, and president of that was supposedly going…
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled that without an injury, a mortgage-backed certificates holder cannot maintain a securities claim against MBS underwriter Goldman Sachs & Co. (GS) and related entities for allegedly misstating the risks involved in the certificates in their registration statement.…
A former Bank of America employee is accusing the investment bank of aggressively recommending complex derivatives products to investors while at the same time failing to tell them of the risks involved. In a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro, the whistleblower said that the sales of…
A district court issued an emergency order this month to freeze the assets of Imperia Invest IBC. The order came after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the internet-based investment company of operating a securities scam involving the British version of viatical settlements. According to the SEC, Imperia Invest IBC…