Securities Fraud

Westport Capital Markets LLC is Accused of Undisclosed Markups as Investors Lose Over $1M

Published on: December 11, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The SEC has filed civil charges against Westport Capital Markets LLC and principal Christopher E. McClure. The Connecticut-based, dually registered brokerage firm and investment adviser and its principal are accused of defrauding clients, costing them over $1M in losses.

According to the regulator’s securities fraud complaint, the investment advisory firm and McClure invested clients’ money in risky securities on numerous occasions, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed mark-ups that went to Westport even as the clients lost more than $1M. The broker-dealer would allegedly buy securities from underwriters at a reduced rate and later re-sell them to its own clients at the full public offering price while keeping the difference.

Westport and McClure are accused of making false and misleading representations to clients about the compensation that the financial firm received from their accounts. Also, the brokerage firm is accused of receiving 12b-1 fees, which are mutual fund distribution fees, when clients’ money was placed in certain mutual fund share classes and again not telling clients about these fees. The SEC said that the fees created a conflict. McClure and Westport allegedly invested clients in mutual fund shares that charged these fees even when less expensive shares that didn’t carry the fees could have been purchased instead.

Ex-Financial Adviser Settles Private Equity Fund Fraud Charges in Texas

Published on: December 8, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

James C. Tao, an ex-financial adviser, has settled civil charges accusing him of bilking investors in a private equity fund. It was the US Securities and Exchange Commission that brought the Texas investment fraud charges against him.

Among the allegations was that Tao misappropriated investor money and made material misstatements in offering documents for the Presidio Venture Capital fund. Donna Boyd, Tao’s ex-partner, also settled SEC charges in this case.

The regulator’s complaint contends that the two of them set up the fund four years ago to invest in Houston-based technology startups. They raised about $860K.

10 Four Points Capital Partners Customers Lose $574K Because of Alleged Broker Fraud

Published on: December 6, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against two brokers for allegedly carrying out broker fraud in the form of unsuitable trades that made them money while costing investors. According to the regulator’s complaint, Zachary Berkey and Daniel Fischer engaged in in-and-out trading—a strategy that was “almost certain” to cause customers losses.

As a result, contends the SEC, 10 Four Points Capital Partners LLC customers collectively lost almost $574K while Fischer earned $175K in commissions and Berkey earned $106K. Four Points is a Texas LLC headquartered in NYC.

The Commission accused the two brokers of churning customer accounts while hiding material information from clients, including facts about commissions, fees, and other costs. Because the securities were only held for a brief time and the costs for these transactions were “significant,” the investments’ share prices would have had to go up substantially for even a “minimal profit” to be made.

Woodbridge Files For Bankruptcy, Misses Payments Due to Investors

Published on: December 4, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Already under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for financial fraud, the Woodbridge Group of Companies has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to InvestmentNews, this move comes a week after the luxury real estate developer missed payments due to investors on the notes they had purchased.

The company has raised over $1B from investors, including senior investors. InvestmentNews reports that many investors were told that their investments would be safe in real estate. Now, however, Woodbridge is saying that it has $750M of debt. Court documents submitted in US Bankruptcy Court state that this is how much nearly 9000 noteholders are owed.

Woodbridge Wealth sells the following investments: first positions in commercial mortgages, secondary market annuities, and a commercial bridge loan. However, reports InvestmentNews, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck doesn’t show any registered brokerage firm by that name.

SEC Awards Two Whistleblowers $16M

Published on: November 29, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The US Securities and Exchange Commision has awarded $16M to two whistleblowers—$8M each—for the crucial information and help they provided in bringing a successful securities enforcement action. If you consider that a whistleblower may be eligible for 10-30% of funds collected when the monetary sanctions of the SEC action that the individual helped to bring is greater than $1M, the sanctions imposed in this latest case must have been significant.

According to the regulator, one whistleblower reported a “particular misconduct” that became central to the SEC’s enforcement action. The other whistleblower provided additional key information and continued to cooperate with the agency during its probe. The latter’s contributions reportedly saved the Commission time and resources.

These latest awards bring the amount awarded to SEC whistleblowers—49 of them—to over $175M. Alleged wrongdoers accused in the regulators’ cases have been ordered to pay $1B in financial remedies, including over $671M in disgorgement.

SEC Cases: $15.7M Final Judgment Issued in Ponzi Scam that Touted Loans to Athletes, MicroCap Issuer is Accused of Accounting Scheme, and Company’s Assets are Frozen in the Wake of Alleged $5.3M Offering Fraud

Published on: November 25, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Regulator Orders Alleged Ponzi Scammers to Pay $15.7M Plus Interest
In its final judgement against ex-pro football player William D. Allen, Susan Daub, and three entities, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is ordering the defendants to pay over $15.7M in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains in addition to prejudgment interest for an alleged Ponzi scam that raised nearly $32M from investors. Allen, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, and Daub, who both pled guilty to related to criminal charges last year, have been sentenced to six years in prison. They must pay $16.8M in restitution for that action. The SEC’s order will be deemed met “based on the restitution order” in the criminal case.

The SEC’s complaint contends that Daub and Allen and the entities misled investors about the loans, which were supposed to go to professional athletes. Instead, they allegedly used just part of the money to issue the loans while using investors’ funds to cover nightclub and casino expenses, other ventures, and to pay back other investors.

Microcap Issuer and Its Ex-CEO Resolve Investor Fraud Allegations
Integrated Freight Corporation and its ex-chairman/CEO David N. Fuselier have settled SEC charges accusing them of investor fraud. Both Fuselier and the company, however, did not deny or admit to the allegations.

SEC Cases: NY Town Accused of Municipal Securities Fraud, Jay Peak Owner Accused in $200M Immigrant Visa Fraud Arrives at Tentative Settlement, and Financial Judgment is Reached in $110M Investor Fraud Against Inofin

Published on: November 21, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

SEC Files Fraud Charges Against Oyster Bay, NY

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed municipal securities fraud charges against the New York City of Oyster Bay along with John Venditto, who was a former supervisor of the town. According to the regulator, the Long Island Town and Venditto defrauded investors through 26 municipal securities offerings from 8/2010 to 12/15. A parallel criminal action has been brought against the ex-town supervisor.

The regulator’s complaint claims Oyster Bay and Venditto hid a number of side deals with a businessman who ran concession stands and restaurants at local facilities. Part of the deals included agreeing to “indirectly guarantee” a number of private loans totaling over $20M to this vendor. “Gifts, bribes, kickbacks, and political support” also were allegedly involved.

Investment Adviser Faces Charges That He Bilked Older Investors of $5.2M

Published on: November 21, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Daniel Glick, a Chicago investment adviser, is charged with wire fraud over allegations that he stole about $5.2M from elderly clients, including the parents of his wife. Glick was the owner of Glick & Associates Ltd., Glick Accounting Services, and Financial Management Strategies Inc.

He allegedly began bilking investors in 2011 through last April. The criminal information in his senior investor fraud case accuses Glick of promising clients that he would invest their funds and pay their bills but he instead created account statements that inflated investment balances while he used their money to buy a Mercedes, pay his mortgage, and pay back business loans. Glick is accused of making Ponzi-like payments to clients.

Among those whom he allegedly defrauded were his in-laws, whose signatures he is accused of forging to transfer their money to his own business account. They lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Another family purportedly paid Glick $700K in fees even while he allegedly misappropriated hundreds of thousands of their dollars.

SEC Cases: Biotech Company Accused of Misleading Investors & Accounting Fraud, Millennium Management Resolves Illegal Short Selling Charges, Day Trader Alleged Engaged in Unauthorized Trades in Over 100 Brokerage Accounts, and Multiple Traders Allegedly Insider Traded Based on One Tip

Published on: November 18, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Day Trader is Accused of Unauthorized Trades to Inflate Stock Prices and Make Illegal Profits
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against Joseph P. Willner accusing him of accessing over 100 brokerage accounts and making unauthorized trades. Meantime, prosecutors in NY, as well as the US Justice Department, have filed criminal charges against him.

The SEC contends that Willner used the allegedly unauthorized trades to inflate a number of companies’ stock prices. He then traded in these same securities in his accounts and made at least $700K in illicit profits.

Willner is accused of fraud and market rigging. The Commission wants back ill-gotten gains in addition to interest, penalties, and a permanent injunction.

Credit Suisse Resolves NY Regulator’s Forex Rigging Probe for $135M

Published on: November 15, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Credit Suisse AG (CS) has agreed to settle currency rigging charges brought by New York’s Department of Financial Services by paying $135M. According to the state regulator, from at least ’08 to ’15, the Zurich-based bank violated NY banking law and engaged in other “unlawful conduct” that “disadvantaged customers.”

The consent order states that Credit Suisse did not put into place controls over its FX business that were “effective.” Also, its traders are accused of the “inappropriate sharing” of information with other banks that could have resulted in exchange rate rigging, coordination of trades, and a rise in the “ bid/ask spreads” that were offered to the bank’s forex customers. The DFS probe said that these actions were geared toward creating more profit for Credit Suisse, while decreasing its losses and harming not just its own customers but the marketplace. Meantime, other banks that it may have colluded with also sought to profit.

Credit Suisse is one of several banks whose traders are accused of gathering in chat rooms to rig currency prices. According to Bloomberg, traders from Barclays PLC (BARC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), and Citigroup (C) are waiting for their trials over allegations that they sought to manipulate currencies. To date, banks accused of currency rigging have paid $5.8M to the US Justice Department to settle charges.