Investor Lawyers Blog

Securities Cases: Jury Renders Guilty Verdict in Ex-ARCP CFO Brian Block’s REIT Fraud Trial & Witnesses Testify Against Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Martin Shkreli

Published on: July 5, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A federal jury has found ex-American Realty Capital Properties (ARCP) Inc. CEO Brian Block guilty of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and other offenses, and of submitting false certifications and filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Block was convicted of overstating the adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) at the real estate investment trust. Following the rendering of the verdict in the REIT fraud case, a lawyer for Block said that his client plans to appeal.

According to the US Department of Justice, an employee notified Block, as well as then-accounting chief Lisa McAllister about the funds overstatement before the first quarter results were publicly released in 2014. However, neither of them reported the error to auditors or to the REIT’s board. Prosecutors contend that Block tried to cover up the incorrect figures in financial reports for the second quarter.

The Wall Street Journal, which reviewed ARCP’s filings, reports that during 2014’s first quarter, McAlister and Block overstated the AFFO by over $12M and by about $10.9M during the next quarter. McAlister pleaded guilty to securities fraud and other criminal charges last year.
Continue Reading ›

Cleveland Cavaliers Player Richard Jefferson is Allegedly Bilked by Former Business Manager of $7M

Published on: July 3, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A federal grand jury has indicted the former business manager of Cleveland Cavaliers player Richard Jefferson for allegedly defrauding the professional athlete of $7M. Theodore Kritza is charged with more than 22 criminal counts related to financial fraud.

Jefferson reportedly paid the agency that Kritza worked for $250,000 a year to manage his financial accounts and pay his bills. Although Kritza did pay the NBA player’s bills, he also allegedly bilked him of millions of dollars.

According to the indictment, Kritza forged Jefferson’s signature on documents that gave the money manager power of attorney over the NBA athlete’s finances. Kritza also allegedly renewed credit lines, established new credit lines, and transferred funds from Jefferson’s accounts using his fake power of attorney. In 2012, the NBA player discovered numerous loans that had supposedly been initiated by him even though he did not give his consent.

Houston Adviser Pleads Guilty to $1.9M Texas Financial Fraud

Published on: June 30, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Lawrence Allan DeShetler is facing up to 20 years in prison for Texas investment adviser fraud. The Houston-based financial adviser pleaded guilty to mail fraud last month.

DeShetler fraudulently obtained $1.9M from clients he worked for through DeShetler & Company Inc. Three years ago, he started recommending that they take out money from their investments and give the cash to him so that he could help them garner higher returns. Instead of investing these funds, he put the money in a bank account that was only under his authority.

DeShetler admitted to using one investor’s funds to begin building a house in Nicaragua and persuading a senior investor, who was a widow in her eighties, to liquidate a trust account and move nearly $190K to him. Last year, DeShetler stayed at her house while she visited family. When she came back, he was no longer there and neither were her investment documents.

CFTC Cases: Non-Prosecutorial Deals Reached With Ex-Citigroup Traders Over Spoofing Allegations, NY-Based Firm is Barred From Commodity Interest Trading, and Regulator Alleges Fraud Involving Forex Trading of a Pooled Investment

Published on: June 30, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former Citigroup Global Markets Traders Accused of Spoofing Arrive at Non-Prosecution Deals
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has reached non-prosecution agreements with three ex-Citigroup Global Markets Inc.(C) traders. Daniel Liao, Jeremy Lao, and Shlomo Salant admitted to engaging in spoofing in US treasury futures markets while working for the firm. The three of them also provided information about misconduct that was committed by others.

According to the non-prosecution deals, each trader submitted big orders on the opposite of orders that were smaller with the intention of cancelling the bigger orders. They engaged in spoofing to fill their smaller orders at prices they preferred.

The agreements with the ex-Citigroup traders comes nearly six months after the bank settled with the CFTC allegations over spoofing and supervisory-related deficiencies. A number of unlawful incidents at Citigroup were identified in the non-prosecutorial deals.

SEC Accuses Ex-COO of Penny Stock Fraud

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

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has brought penny stock fraud charges against Diana P. Lovera, the ex-COO of Oxford City Football Club, Inc. Lovera faced criminal charges in a parallel case and she has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.

According to the SEC’s Complaint, from about 7/2013 to 7/2015, Lovera and others at the penny stock company used a boiler room and exercised pressure tactics to raise about $6.6M from over 150 investors. They sold millions of unregistered Oxford City stock shares. Many of the investors involved were unaccredited.

The regulator is accusing Lovera of making misstatements about Oxford City’s assets, potential for profit, business plan, and management composition. She also allegedly falsely told potential investors that they could “lock in” a reduced share price by using Oxford City’s voice verification “system.” She touted the system as having the ability to link the personal information of investors to an SEC filing.

SEC Cases: Oil and Gas Company is Charged With Accounting Fraud, Utah-Based Broker-Dealer is Accused of Not Complying With Anti-Money Laundering Laws, and Hemp Oil Company Allegedly Inflated Assets

Published on: June 28, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Penn West Petroleum is Accused of Accounting Fraud

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Penn West Petroleum Ltd., now called Obsidian Energy Ltd., and three of its ex-finance executives with involvement in an alleged accounting fraud. According to the regulator, the Canadian-based oil and gas company fraudulently transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses to capital expenditure accounts from its operating expense accounts. As a result, Penn West was able to artificially lower operating expenses by up to 20% during some periods, as well as falsely enhance the metrics having to do with profitability and oil extraction efficiency. These metrics are important for selling barrels of oil.

The SEC is accusing ex-Penn West CFO Todd Takeyasu, ex-VP of Accounting and Reporting Jeffery Curan, and ex-Operations Controller Waldermar Grab of running the accounting fraud. The regulator claims that the three men violated federal securities laws related to antifraud, books and records, reporting, and internal controls provisions.

UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico Ordered to Pay Investors $793,000 Over Muni Bond Sales

Published on: June 28, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) arbitration panel has awarded two investors $793,000 in their Puerto Rico municipal bond fraud case against UBS Financial Services (UBS) and UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico (UBS-PR). The claimants, Madeleine Carrero (as an in individual and as the trustee of Ulises Barros Carrero and Fideicomiso Ulises Barros), accused UBS of negligence, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, unauthorized trading, unsuitability, and breach of contract.

This is the latest ruling in which UBS and its Puerto Rico-based brokerage firm have been ordered to pay investors for the losses they suffered from investing in Puerto Rico bonds and closed-end bonds.

On the island and the U.S. mainland, our UBS Puerto Rico bond attorneys are continuing to work with investors seeking to recover their losses from investing in Puerto Rico securities. Many investors lost everything, with some even borrowing funds at the inappropriate recommendation of their advisor so that they could invest even more in the island’s bonds.

If you think that you may have grounds for a Puerto Rico bond fraud claim against UBS Puerto Rico, Santander Securities (SAN), Banco Popular or another brokerage firm, it’s not too late to file your claim. Contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP today.

Dallas Cowboys Player Files Texas Securities Fraud Case Against Ameriprise

Published on: June 27, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Nearly a year after suing his former financial adviser for allegedly misappropriating $15M from him, Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden is now suing Ameriprise Financial (AMP) over his investment losses. In his Texas securities fraud case, McFadden claims that the firm was negligent in supervising Michael Vick. The broker is not the same person as former NFL football player Michael Vick nor is he related to him.

Ameriprise started investigating Vick in 2010 because of suspect and unauthorized trades identified in McFadden’s account. However, contends the NFL player, he was never told of the probe or their concerns or that Vick was suspended months later.

McFadden claims that Ameriprise had multiple opportunities to stop the misappropriation of his funds yet took no such action. McFadden later followed Vick to another firm where the ex-financial adviser allegedly misappropriated even more money from him.

Jury Selection Underway in Securities Fraud Case Against Ex-Hedge Fund Manager and Pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli

Published on: June 26, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

At the Federal District Court in Brooklyn, former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli is on trial for multiple counts of securities fraud and wire fraud. Just this Monday, over 120 potential jurors were dismissed for various reasons. A number of them, through their statements, revealed that they could not be impartial, with some blaming Shkreli for problems involving the pharmaceutical industry, including that his actions had directly impacted them and/or their loved ones.

For example, one potential juror said that both of his parents now struggle to pay for their daily medical care after Shkreli raised the price of Daraprim from $13.50/pill to $750/pill overnight. The drug is used to treat parasites and has also been used for babies and AIDS patients suffering from infection. At the time of the price hike, Shkreli was running Turing Pharmaceuticals.

This criminal securities fraud case, however, is not about his time at Turing. Shkreli is accused of using the assets of Retrophin, a biotech company, in a Ponzi-like fraud when he was its CEO and of robbing investors of over $11M.

US DOJ Sues for Assets That May Have Been Stolen from 1MDB Fund

Published on: June 23, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Prosecutors in the US have filed lawsuits to seize assets that may be connected to an alleged financial fraud involving the 1Malaysia Development Bhd. (1MDB), which is a Malaysian state fund. The Justice Department is looking to recover $540M in property, assets, and other items. 1MDB was launched by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to help economic growth. The fund borrowed over $13B with little result to date.

It was in 2013 that The Wall Street Journal reported that almost $700M from the 1MDB fund, which was heavily in debt,had been moved to Prime Minister Najib’s personal bank account. Najib and 1MDB have denied wrongdoing and authorities in Malaysia have cleared him in their probe, which it has since closed.

The US government, however, claims that investors were bilked of billions of dollars in the financial fraud. Investigations into the alleged multi-billion dollar fraud are also ongoing in a number of countries, including Singapore, Luxembourg, and United Arab Emirates.