After undergoing major litigation costs, GunnAllen Financial Inc. has agreed to be acquired by Progressive Asset Management Inc., which already controls a smaller broker-dealer. Progressive claims to be a “socially conscious” investment firm. The combination of the firms would appear to create a broker-dealer with about 1,000 independent advisors and…
Charles Marquardt, Evergreen Investment Management Co. LLC’s former chief administrator, has settled charges filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that he sold Evergreen Ultra Short Opportunities Fund shares after obtaining insider information that a number of the MBS holdings were going to drop down in value. Marquardt worked…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has affirmed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lifetime bar against a former Southwest Securities Inc. stockbroker. Scott Gann, who allegedly committed Texas securities fraud, is no longer allowed to associate with dealers, investment advisers, and brokers. The SEC imposed the permanent…
According to Advisen Ltd, 910 securities lawsuits were filed in 2009 in the wake of the economic crisis-a 13% increase from the 804 complaints filed in 2008. 239 securities fraud class action lawsuits were filed in 2009-the same number filed in 2008. Advisen reported a 22% increase in the number…
Per the Security and Exchange Commission’s request for emergency relief, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has halted an alleged investment fraud scam involving Results One Financial LLC adviser Steve W. Salutric. He is co-founder of the financial firm. Hon. William J. Hibbler ordered that all…
According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Securities and Exchange Commission cannot order former Rauscher Pierce Refsnes Inc. broker Michael Siegel to uphold an award of restitution to investors who sustained financial losses as a result of his alleged broker misconduct. Siegel worked…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of LSF5 Bond Holdings LLC and Lone Star Fund V (U.S.) L.P.’s $60 million securities fraud claims against Barclays Capital Inc. and Barclays Bank PLC. The court noted that Barclays never represented that the mortgage pass-through certificates…
Joseph P. Collins, a former Mayor Brown partner, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a $2.45 billion investment fraud scheme involving Refco Inc. He had hoped to obtain a more lenient sentence. In July 2009, a jury found Collins guilty of wire fraud and…
According to FINRA dispute resolution president Linda Fienberg, the market turmoil of the last two years has led to an increase in the number of arbitration cases filed, as well as a change in the the kinds of claims that are submitted. Fienberg made her statements before the DC bar.…
US News and World Report says that the first decade of the 21st Century for fund investors got worse after the dotcom bubble burst in 2000. The media publication picked its 10 worst fund disasters: Reserve Primary Fund: Investors scrambled to cash in shares after the fund’s price sank to…