The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Beverly Hills money manager Stanley Chais for securities fraud related to his alleged involvement in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scam. The SEC alleges that Chais and four others worked collectively to raise billions of dollars from investors to fund the $65 billion scheme-the…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that RBC Capital Markets Corp., Raymond James & Associates, Inc., and an RBCCMC head trader have settled charges over alleged broker misconduct connected to stock loan improprieties. RJF is to pay a $1 million fine, while RBC Capital Markets will pay $400,000. Meantime, RBCCMC…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is accusing Park Financial Group Inc., JP Turner & Co., and Legent Clearing LLC of inadequate anti-money laundering procedures. The broker-dealers and four persons connected to them have consented to pay more than $1.25 million for failing to detect and report suspect penny-stock transactions. JP…
A former Morgan Keegan adviser has pleaded guilty to charges that he stole from an elderly investor. Charges included investment adviser fraud and making and subscribing a bogus tax return. Now, Harold “Hal” Blondeau could be facing up to eight years in prison. He also may have to pay restitution…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are accusing Houston attorney and accountant Daniel Petroski and Texas A & M Professor Robert Watson of using forged bank records to engage in investor fraud. On May 21, the US District Court for the Southern District of…
Brokers are once again getting behind structured products, hoping that investors will bite. While sales of structured products during 2008’s 4th quarter-at $5.8 billion-was down 75% from the year’s 1st quarter, sales are starting to go up. One reason for this is that certain structured products, such as return-enhanced notes…
Recently, Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LTD LLP Founder and Securities Fraud Attorney William Shepherd wrote a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission voicing his support for needed changes to the public reporting requirements on stockbrokers. His letter was published on the SEC’s Web site and included a number…
Evergreen Investment Management Company, a Wells Fargo unit, has agreed to a $40 million settlement with federal and state regulators over allegations that it misrepresented securities in short-term bond funds. The settlement could be a sign that other fund providers, including Morgan Keegan, Charles Schwab Corp., and Fidelity Investments, may…
According to New Hampshire securities regulators, UBS Financial Services Inc., a unit of UBS AG, misled investors regarding complex securities that were issued by Lehman Brothers before the latter filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008. The Bureau of Securities Regulation says investors were misled when the representatives for the UBS…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that RD Capital Group, based in Puerto Rico, and its president Ramon Luis Dominguez have agreed to pay $950,000 in restitution plus interest to three clients over fraudulent and excessive markups involving the sale of U.S. Treasury Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal…