Financial Firms

SEC Investigates Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Published on: April 28, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and its Merrill Lynch unit to find out if the lender broke rules established to protect customers accounts. According to sources in the know, over a three-year period, Merrill Lynch used different kinds of big, complex trades and loans to save on funding expenses and free up billions of dollars in money and securities for trading that it otherwise would have needed to keep off-limits.

Bank of America put a halt to the trades in 2012 in the wake of internal dialogue over possible risks involved. The trades involved strategies that existed when the bank purchased Merrill Lynch in 2009.

Now, the SEC wants to know if the strategies violated the protection rules and if regulators were misled about the bank’s actions. It also is trying to determine if retail brokerage funds were placed at risk for the purpose of making more money.

Morgan Stanley Sued by Home Shopping Founder’s Widow for $170M

Published on: April 27, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Lynnda L. Speer, the widow of Home Shopping Network co-founder Roy M. Speer, is suing Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (MS), a branch manager, and an adviser for over $170 million. Mrs. Speer contends that the firm and adviser Ami Forte took part in excessive trading, abused their fiduciary duty, and were involved in unauthorized use of discretion.

Now, she is seeking $78 million for Florida Statute violations, up to $66 million in portfolio damages, and up to $44 million for disgorgement and excess commission damages. Also named in the complaint submitted to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is Morgan Stanley branch manager Terry McCoy.

Reuters reports that Speer’s case accuses Morgan Stanley of not properly supervising its brokers and failing to act in the best interests of Mr. Speer. When Speer died in 2012 at the age of 80 his estimated worth was approximately $775 million.

Deutsche Bank to Pay $2.5B for Rate Rigging

Published on: April 23, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Financial firm Deutsche Bank (DB) will pay a $2.5 billion fine to regulators in the United States and Britain for its involvement in rate rigging. The German lender also will fire seven of its employees.

This is the largest penalty to date against a financial institution over allegations of benchmark manipulation. As part of the deal, Deutsche Bank’s subsidiary in London has pleaded guilty to criminal wire fraud charges. Meantime, the parent group has arrived at a deferred prosecution deal to resolve U.S. wire fraud and antitrust charges.

The large fine is reflective of the banks’ big market share for financial instruments tied to interest rates on mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and credit cards that the benchmarks help set.

Former JPMorgan Chase Investment Adviser Faces Criminal and Civil Charges for Allegedly Stealing $20M from Clients

Published on: April 16, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Michael Oppenheim, an ex-JPMorgan Chase (JPM) investment adviser, was arrested this week and charged with bilking clients of at least $20 million. Oppenheim worked for the firm from 2002 until March of this year.

Authorities claim that starting as early as 2011, Oppenheim convinced clients to allow him to take money out of their accounts to invest in low-risk municipal bonds. Instead, he allegedly used the funds to get cashier’s checks that he put into brokerage accounts that he controlled. He also used the money to trade options and stocks in different companies.

Because his options trading activities were generally unprofitable, most of his investments lead to losses. By last year he’d lost some $13.5 million. Oppenheim was also purportedly using client money to pay for a home loan and cover bills. He is accused of concealing his embezzelment by using fraudulent client statements and transferring funds among his clients.

Former UBS Puerto Rico Executives File a $10M FINRA Arbitration Claim Against the Firm

Published on: April 15, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Siblings Teresa and George Bravo, who formerly worked as financial advisors at UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico (UBS-PR), have filed a $10 million Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim against the firm. The Bravos, both were senior vice presidents at the broker-dealer, claim that management deceived not just customers but also employees about proprietary closed mutual funds.

The Bravos said that they thought working with UBS would help them be of better service to their clients, which is why they left their old firm. However, the allegedly fraudulent conduct taking place at UBS created material conflicts of interest for them and other employees. The Bravos are contending that during the three years they worked at UBS, they were repeatedly deceived, mistreated, threatened, and coerced before being forced out.

They collectively managed over $120 million in client assets while working for UBS. According to their complaint, the Bravos said that UBS created a high-pressure atmosphere to get brokers to find and sell more of UBS’s proprietary closed-end mutual funds or risk termination otherwise. Teresa Bravo says that she was even duped into buying $100,000 in mutual funds herself. She and her brother are accusing UBS of deceiving customers for its own protection and trying to artificially preserve the Puerto Rican closed-end funds market.

Plaintiffs Appeal Federal Court’s Ruling Dismissing Their 401(K) Lawsuit Against Fidelity

Published on: April 13, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A notice of appeal was submitted with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by plaintiffs seeking to overturn a ruling by a federal district court dismissing their 401(K) case against Fidelity Investments. The case is In Re Fidelity ERISA Float Litigation.

According to the plaintiffs, who are participants in a number of defined contribution plans, as record keeper for several of the plan, the financial firm breached its fiduciary duty when managing the plans’ float income. This is the money made from interest-bearing accounts that 401k) plans use temporarily before plan assets are disbursed and participants move their funds among different investment choices.

The plan participants believe that Fidelity used the float income to cover administrative and record-keeping costs, which was not part of their agreement with the firm in terms of the fees they were supposed to pay it. However, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper dismissed their complaint last month, finding that the plaintiffs did not plausibly allege that “float income is a plan asset.” Casper noted that she did not consider Fidelity an ERISA fiduciary in relation to float. Now, however, the plaintiffs’ lawyers are disagreeing with Casper’s ruling.

Deutsche Bank Settlement Over Libor Rigging Likely to Exceed $1.5B

Published on: April 10, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to media reports, Deutsche Bank AG (DB) could settle allegations over Libor manipulation with U.S. and British regulators as early as this month. A source reports that the settlement is likely to be larger than $1.5 billion and unit Deutsche Bank Group Services may even plead guilty.

Regulators expected to be involved in any settlement are the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Financial Services in New York, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. Deutsche Bank is one of several banks probed over accusations of London interbank offered rate manipulation.

Libor is the key interest rate linked to mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and other instruments. The bank is accused of giving false data to a British Banker’s Association daily survey, which impacted Libor’s daily rate in numerous currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, the Euro, and the yen.

LPL Financial Should Pay $3.6M in Fines, Repayments for REIT Sales to Older Investors, Says NH Regulator

Published on: April 7, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation wants LPL Financial (LPLA) to pay clients $2.4 million in buybacks and restitution for 48 sales of nontraded real estate investment trusts that were purportedly unsuitable for elderly investors. The regulator, which says the firm did not properly supervise its agents, is also fining LPL $1 million plus $200,000 in investigative expenses.

The securities case springs from transactions involving an 81-year-old state resident that purchased a nontraded REIT from the firm in 2008. The investor, whose liquid net worth was $2.5 million and invested $253,000 in the financial instrument, would go on to lose a significant amount of money. A probe ensued.

The state regulator contends that the 48 REIT sales, totaling $2.4 million lead to concentration that went beyond LPL guidelines and that the firm sold hundreds of nontraded REITs to clients in New Hampshire on the basis of “clearly erroneous “client financial data, while frequently violating its own policies. LPL has reportedly admitted that 10 of the 48 transactions deemed unlawful by the state were unsuitable according to its own guidelines. The Securities Bureau wants to take away the firm’s license to sell securities in New Hampshire.

Barclays Must Pay Former Trader $9M, Ex-Raymond James Broker Gets Back $650K Award

Published on: April 6, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitrators have awarded Mayank Chamadia $3.7 million in compensation in his case against Barclays Plc. (BARC) Chamadia was placed on leave from the June 2013 to prepare testimony for a possible interest-rate manipulation case. He resigned in October 2013 to go work for another firm.

Although Chamadia wasn’t accused of any violations, he said that the leave time while at Barclays hurt not just his reputation but also his bonus earning power. Now, Barclays must pay Chamadia millions of dollars in deferred pay along with the compensation. The arbitrators found that the firm had “no basis” to reduce or keep payouts that had not yet vested. Chamadia’s lawyer says that this releases some $9 million in back pay that had vested, including interest, to his client.

In another financial representative case against a firm, Robert Fenyk, an ex-Raymond James Financial Services Inc. (RJF) adviser, recently saw his $650,000 award reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The ruling comes after a five-year legal battle.

Investor Fraud News: NFL Free Agent Sues Bank of America For $20M, FINRA Arbitration Panel Awards $1.3M to Investor in Case Involving Ex-Stifel Broker, and Tony Thompson and His Brokerage Firm are Barred from Industry

Published on: March 31, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former Colts Football Player Sues Bank of America for $20M

Dwight Freeney, formerly with the Indianapolis Colts and currently an NFL free agent, is suing Bank of America (BAC) for securities fraud. He and his Roof Group LLC say they were bilked of over $20 million.

In his securities fraud case, Freeney contends that the bank’s wealth management division is to blame for taking part, aiding, and abetting in the scam that cost him money. He noted that Bank of America went after him in 2010 to become one of its high net worth and affluent clients.