Leslie Weiner, a former broker for Liberty Financial Trading Corp. (LFTC) and Liberty Real Assets Investment Corp. (LRAIC), has agreed to pay $170,000 in penalty and restitution to settle charges made by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that he defrauded investor clients. The CFTC says that LRAIC, LFTC, and…
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is charging Diego Mariano Rolando, an Argentine investment adviser, for his role in a $43.8 scheme that defrauded some 400 investors in the United States, South America, and Europe. Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut issued a restraining…
The city of Cleveland, Ohio is suing 21 financial institutions for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages caused by subprime lending and securitization. The defendants named in the lawsuit are: • Deutsche Bank Trust Company • Ameriquest Mortgage Company • Bank of America Corporation • The Bear Stearns Companies…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have each began their own investigations into the sales and marketing practices of certain collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), FINRA sent more than 12 broker-dealers a sweeps letter requesting more information about: the sales of principals only, interest…
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has found K.W. Brown & Company, K.W. Brown Investments, 21st Century Advisors, the companies’ owner Kenneth Brown, his spouse Wendy Brown, and representative Michael Cimilluca liable for their involvement in a cherry-picking scam that earned them $4.5 million and cost…
On Christmas Eve a Bear Stearns client received a present – a check for $1,000 – less some fees. While a check for $1,000 at Christmas time can come in handy, it was no gift since this was to close out an investment by the client in 2001 of almost…
Lawyers have filed a class action suit against Morgan Stanley for a group of former Eastman Kodak employees they say were persuaded to retire early and invest their retirement assets through Morgan Stanley. According to the Dow Jones News Wire, the class action is seeking nearly a half billion dollars…
SMH Capital has agreed to pay $450,000 in fines to settle charges by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) over the broker dealer’s failure to have supervisory procedures and systems in place to handle its prime brokerage and soft dollar services to hedge funds. The oversight led to a hedge…
Some folks resolve their disputes by going on TV, where they also get paid and enjoy their 15 minutes of fame (or infamy). But what does a TV judge do to resolve disputes and, perhaps, gain notoriety? Take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court! TV trials are really arbitrations.…
Last week, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that 19 broker-dealers agreed to pay fines to settle SRO charges that they “substantially overstated their advertising trade volume to private sector providers.” By agreeing to pay the fines, none of the firms are admitting to or denying the charges. FINRA…