The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the RBC Wealth Management-acquired Ferris, Baker Watts LLC have agreed to settle charges that the latter engaged in the unsuitable sales of reverse convertibles to elderly clients in the 85 and over group, well as in the inadequate supervision of such notes to retail…
This month, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law amendments to his country’s securities legislation. He signed the Federal Law No. 264-FZ to amend provisions of Federal Law No. 39-FZ “On Securities Market.” The State Duma, the Parliament’s lower house, and the Federation Council have all adopted the new amendments,…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is warning small businesses and individuals to watch out for fraudsters out there that may be targeting the recipients of BP oil spill payments with investment opportunities that promise high returns at little or no risk or involve complex or secretive strategies. Because of their…
According to Commodities Future Trading Commission Judge George H. Painter, his colleague, Judge Bruce Levine, is biased against investors that file complaints. Painter, 83, claims that Levine has a secret deal with former CFTC Chairwoman Wendy Gramm that he would never issue a ruling that favored a complainant. Painter made…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the $32.5 million Shareholder settlement against DHB Industries because the agreement improperly released, under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the body-armor maker’s former CEO and CFO from liability. The case involves a shareholder complaint that was filed against DHB and a number…
This week, Oregon Attorney General John Groger and Treasurer Ted Wheeler announced that the state is suing University of Phoenix’s parent company, Apollo Group Inc. of Arizona, and several of its executives for securities fraud. The state officials claim that the plaintiffs misled investors in the firm’s financial statements about…
Public companies and employers may have to contend with an unlimited number of expensive securities lawsuits under the whistleblower provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which not only includes provisions for an expanded statute of limitations under which employees can sue employers for discriminatory action…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged investment adviser Neal Greenberg with securities fraud and breach of fiduciary duty related to the making of recommendations and marketing of hedge funds to investors. According to the SEC, Greenberg, who was the CEO of Tactical Allocation Services LLP and also the portfolio…
According to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro, the agency is reviewing the proxy process to determine how information is transmitted to shareholders and the public. They are also studying how shareholder votes are counted. She says the exam will focus on the role of proxy advisory firms, the…
UBS AG has filed a motion to dismiss a class securities case against it. The move is putting the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd. to the test. In this securities fraud case, four institutional investors—three of them foreign—are charging UBS and a number…