Investor Lawyers Blog

NJ Investment Adviser Allegedly Used Investor Funds to Pay Gambling Bills, Radio Host is Accused of Bilking Investors of Over $5M in Ticket Resale Scheme, & Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges

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

NJ Investment Adviser Accused of Stealing Over $1M from Clients
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has brought investment adviser fraud charges against Scott Newsholme, a New Jersey-based financial adviser and tax preparer, accusing him of stealing over $1M from clients so he could support his lifestyle and support his gambling. According to the regulator, Newsholme generated fake account statements and “doctored stock certificates and forged promissory notes.”

Prosecutors have filed a parallel criminal case against him. Rather than invest clients’ funds in different securities as promised, Newsholme allegedly went to a check-cashing store to cash their checks and then kept their money for himself to cover his own expenses and gambling activities, as well as make Ponzi-like payments to the clients who wanted their money back.

Radio Host Accused of Stealing Millions of Dollars in Concert Ticket Scheme
Craig Carton, a sports radio host, is accused of running a concert ticket scam to bilk investors. According to the SEC’s complaint, he and Joseph Meli, another man whom the regulator had already filed charges against earlier this year, touted blocks of face value tickets to concert performances that were in demand and promised investors high returns that would come from ticket resales and their accompanying price markups.

Mutual Fund Lord Abbett’s Institutional Investor Fraud Lawsuit Against Valeant Pharmaceuticals Could Seek Over Three Times The Losses Alleged

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

Lord Abbett is suing Valeant Pharmaceuticals contending that the defendant violated New Jersey’s RICO law. The institutional investor is claiming $80B in losses. By invoking the state’s RICO law, Lord Abbett could seek a penalty three times greater than the actual losses it allegedly suffered when the pharmaceutical company’s share price went down.

According to the mutual fund company, it purchased Valeant’s debt securities at a price that was artificially inflated after the pharmaceutical company provided it with information that wasn’t correct. Now, Lord Abbett is alleging violations of RICO law in NJ, which is where Valeant is headquartered.

The institutional investor is not the only party to file a RICO case against Valeant. The other complaints are primarily over allegations that the pharmaceutical company committed fraud by engaging in business practices that were deceptive, including charging too much for drugs. These plaintiffs are claiming hundreds of millions of dollars of losses.

Ex-Morgan Stanley Broker Pleads Not Guilty to Insider Trading

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

Michael Siva, a former Morgan Stanley broker (MS), has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges accusing him of insider trading. Siva is one of several people charged over their alleged participation in a group of “tipping chains” and trading on tips about upcoming acquisitions and mergers. The information was provided by Bank of America (BAC) consultant Daniel Rivas. Siva is said to have gotten the tips from the James Moodhe, who is the father of Rivas’ girlfriend.

Rivas and Moodhe have both pleaded guilty to the criminal charges accusing them of insider trading. They are cooperating with the government’s probe.

Moodhe is said to have shared Rivas’s tips with Siva from at least 2015 up through earlier this year. Siva allegedly used the information so he could make successful trades for clients as well as for himself. Moodhe and Siva allegedly met at eating places outside NYC during which time the former would read details about upcoming deals to Siva, including the value of the deals and when news about them was expected to go public. The two men allegedly made over $3M trading prior to and after the announcement of the deals.
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Ex-Virginia Investment Company Owner Arrested in Nearly $20M Fraud

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

Daryl Gene Bank, who is the owner of dozens of Virginia liability companies, and Raeann Gibson have been arrested in an alleged investment fraud that prosecutors believe cost investors almost $20M. They are charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit both, taking part in illegal monetary transactions, and running a number of investment scams between 2012 through July 2017.

WTVR reports that among the allegations against Bank is that he caused a number of material misrepresentations and omissions to be presented to a number of investors, including a blind elderly investor who gave Bank $20K of his retirement money. Bank allegedly placed most of the funds in Prime Spectrum, which is purportedly an investment scam.

If convicted, Bank could be ordered to serve up to 260 years behind bars. Gibson could be sentenced to up to 240 years.

UBS Fights Insurers’ $20 Million Lawsuit Over Puerto Rico Bond Claims

Published on: August 31, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

In an effort to fight a $20 million coverage lawsuit brought by insurance carriers over Puerto Rico bond fraud cases, UBS Financial Services, Inc. (UBS) argued in court that the exclusions at issue cannot be applied to these investors’ claims. The plaintiffs in the case include XL Specialty Insurance Co., Hartford Fire, and Axis.

According to Law360, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing notes that as of last year UBS is contending with $1.9 billion in claims – including civil, arbitration, and regulatory cases – over its Puerto Rico closed-end bond funds, and to date has already paid $740 million to resolve some of those claims. The bank has come under fire for the way it handled $10 billion of these closed-end bond funds, including claims that they pushed the securities onto investors who could not handle the risks involved and, in some cases, encouraged them to borrow funds to buy even more.

The bank wants coverage under new subsidiary policies that the insurers agreed to even though it includes a specific exclusion for claims that involve the closed-end fund debacle in any way. In its opposite brief, submitted to Puerto Rico federal court, UBS argued that the plaintiffs have not made much of an effort to argue how the exclusion could preclude every related claim, of which there are more than 1600. UBS noted in its brief that insurance law in the U.S. territory mandates that an insurance company defend the whole action even if just one claim is potentially covered.
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FDIC’s Libor Rigging Lawsuit Against Deutsche Bank, UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Others in the UK Accuses Defendant Banks of Lowballing Benchmark Interest Rate Figures

Published on: August 31, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

In the UK, the US government is suing several banks over Libor rigging allegations in High Court. The defendants in the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) manipulation lawsuit include Deutsche Bank (DB), Barclays (BARC), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds Banking Group, UBS (UBS), Rabobank (RABO), and several other banks, in addition to the British Bankers Association.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s claim, the banks would engage in lowballing by turning in estimates that were artificially low when participating in the daily process to set the Libor rate. The US agency said that it is suing for 39 US banks, which were once collectively valued at over $400M, that failed after they depended on the US dollar denominated-Libor variant for derivative and other transactions. FDIC contends that the inaccurate figures submitted by the European banks caused the US banks to sustain massive losses.

It believes that if the Libor rate had been set honestly, the benchmark’s rate would would have been higher and these banks would have achieved higher prices and larger returns on different mortgages, loans, options, swaps, and other Libor-tied agreements. Instead, the plaintiffs allegedly colluded together to keep borrowing rates down to make it appear as if the banks were in more robust financial health than what was actual. The FDIC argued that the joint efforts of the banks and the British Bankers Association resulted in the “sustained and material suppression of Libor” from August 2007 through at least 2009.

FINRA Bars Ex-HSBC Securities Broker Over Alleged $200K Senior Financial Fraud

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

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is barring Jaime R. Rodriguez, an ex-HSBC Securities (HSBC) broker, in the wake of a charge accusing him of bilking an older customer, who is also legally blind, of $200K. HSBC fired Rodriguez in 2014.

Rodriguez is accused of using about $70K of the client’s money in 2012 to buy an apartment that was supposed to be for the customer. However, because the man couldn’t read or see the documents related to the purchase, he did not know that Rodriguez had named himself as the sole beneficial owner.

According to InvestmentNews, Rodriguez met the man in 2010 and began helping him with his errands. Also in 2012, Rodriguez purportedly recommended to the client that they set up a joint account together so that the then-HSBC broker could assist him in paying his bills. The account was opened using about $42K of the client’s money and at one point it held $153K.

Securities Cases: FINRA Fines and Suspends Ex-Morgan Stanley Broker For Trying to Settle Without Firm Authorization, SEC Accuses Connecticut Financial Representative of Elder Financial Fraud and Freezes Assets of Ex-Colorado Broker for Allegedly Stealing Investor Funds

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

FINRA Fines Ex-Morgan Stanley Broker, Issues 15-Day Suspension

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined an ex-Morgan Stanley (MS) broker $10K and ordered him to serve a 15-day suspension after he allegedly tried to resolve a client’s complaint without the firm’s consent. The regulator is charging Lewis H. Robinson, who now works with BB & T Securities in Florida, with violating Rule 2010. The rule mandates that brokers satisfy “high standards” as they pertain to commercial honor and principles of trade.

According to FINRA, Robinson wrote $12,203 in checks to resolve three complaints made by the client. Advisor Hub reports that Robinson said that he notified Morgan Stanley as soon as the client noticed that the account was overcharged a higher commission rate than what had been agreed upon but that the firm refused to give a refund because the allegedly mistaken excess fee was charged too long ago.

Former Investment Adviser Gets Five Years in Prison for Stealing Over $600K From Clients

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

Aaron J. Johnson, a former registered investment adviser who ran Capital Advisors until state regulators took back his firm’s registration in 2013, is sentenced to five years behind bars for financial fraud. Johnson, 37, claimed that he stole over $600K from clients because he suffered a mental health breakdown.

According to prosecutors, Johnson took money from middle-class clients’ retirement accounts and charged them excessive fees to the point that he’d practically drained their funds. After Capital Advisors lost its registration, Johnson became affiliated with Trade PMR, a Florida-based firm that offers custody and brokerage services for investment advisers that are registered. Prosecutors contend that even then Johnson kept stealing from clients despite the fact that he was now under investigation. Prosecutors said that after Trade PMR began to question the fees that Johnson charged clients, including $3200 in client fees for an account that only held $13K in assets, the ex-adviser generated fraudulent documents as proof that his actions were warranted. He drained the account of the client, who was a single mom with three kids, until there was only $5 left.

Johnson has been ordered to pay back everyone that he defrauded.

US Bank Sued by Pension Funds Over $25B Tribal Bond Fraud Involving Jason Galanis

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

In South Dakota federal court, a number of public employee retirement funds are suing US Bank NA (USB) for not identifying certain “red flags” as the signs of a tribal bond fraud. The plaintiffs say they lost $25M in the offering scam and they believe that the bank decided to ignore the warnings that something was amiss.

The plaintiffs in the tribal bond fraud lawsuit include the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Employees’ Retirement Plan, which invested $4.1M, the Water Works Board of the City of Birmingham, which invested $4.3M, and the Omaha School Employees’ Retirement System affiliates, which invested $16.2M. According to the pension funds, their investment advisers were bought by fraudsters who put their money in bonds that a Native American tribe had issued.

US Bank served as the tribal bond offerings’ indenture trustee. This meant that it was the bondholder and handled the funds. The plaintiffs want damages for a number of violations, including negligence and breach of contract.
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