Investor Lawyers Blog

Securities News: Citigroup to Pay $7M Over Incomplete Blue Sheet Data, Cetera Fined $75K for Client Record Issue, and Raymond James Settles EB-5 Program Violations for $1.45M

Published on: July 30, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Raymond James to Pay Vermont Almost $1.5M in Immigrant Visa Case
The Securities Division of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation said that Raymond James & Associates (RJF) must pay $1.45M in penalties because one of its registered representaitves allowed investor money to be misused in a$350M development fraud involving the EB-5 program. The program lets rich foreign investors obtain permanent residency if they invest a certain amount in projects that help establish jobs for U.S. citizens.

Earlier, a Securities and Exchange Commission-appointed receiver sued Raymond James, which received wire transfers involving the scam beginning in 2008. The money was from investors who thought they were investing in a Vermont ski resort. One of the fraudsters, Ariel Quiro, is accused of borrowing against the Raymond James accounts and using nearly $2.5M of investors’ money to cover margin interest loans to the firm. Last month, Raymond James arrived at a $5.95M settlement with the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation over violations involving the ski resort. $4.5M of the money was for paying back investors.

Regarding this $1.45M fine, Vermont regulators said that it was a Raymond James representative who set up the brokerage and margin accounts involved in the alleged scam. The financial representative also failed to procure the proper documentation showing that Quiros was entitled to act for certain limited partnerships and let him authorize the transfer of $13M in limited partnership money to buy the ski resort even though written instructions directed otherwise.

Citigroup Admits Wrongdoing Over Blue Sheet Data
According to the SEC, for 15 years, Citigroup Global (C) markets provided the regulator with incomplete blue sheet data regarding trades that it executed. The coding error involved software that the firm used from 5/99 to 4/14 for processing the Commissions’ requests for the information, including data about trade times, prices, volume traded, and information identifying customers. As a result, Citigroup left out nearly 27,000 securities transactions in responses to over 2,300 blue sheet requests.

Puerto Rico Likely To Default on Bond Payments Due on August 1

Published on: July 29, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

On August 1, the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its agencies will owe roughly $346 million in bond payments. This latest deadline comes one month after the U.S. Territory defaulted on nearly $1 billion of bond payments that were due on July 1. According to Bloomberg, here is what is due:

· The Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp. (often called “COFINAs”) owes about $256 million of principal plus interest in COFINAs. S & P Global Ratings has said that the bond trustee has the money to pay the debt that is due next week. COFINAs are paid back from the Commonwealths’ sales tax. This local agency has $15.2 billion of outstanding debt.

· Every month, the territory owes $13.9M of interest, which Puerto Rico has not defaulted on yet.

State Street to Pay $382M for Misleading Clients, Including Mutual Funds, Over Hidden Markups In Foreign Currency Exchange Trades

Published on: July 27, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission has arrived at a global settlement with State Street Bank and Trust Company. According to the regulator, State Street misled custody clients, including mutual funds, about hidden markups that were added to foreign currency exchange trades. The firm will pay $382.4M, including $167M in penalties and disgorgement to the Commission, a $155M penalty to the U.S. Justice Department, and at least $60M to ERISA plan clients.

Among the other services it provides, State Street facilitates indirect foreign currency exchange trading for clients so that they can sell and purchase foreign currencies in transactions involving foreign securities. An SEC probe found that State Street made a substantial chunk of money in revenue when it misled some clients about Indirect FX, claimed that it offered the most competitive rates on trades, charged “market rates,” and provided “best execution.” The Commission contends that the company did not try to get the best prices for clients.

The SEC believes that State Street concealed markups so that custody clients would not notice. It also found that registered investment company custody clients were given monthly transaction reports and trade confirmations that were materially misleading because of misrepresentations about foreign currency exchange transaction pricing.

SEC Stops $5M Fraud, Ex-Investment Adviser Faces Criminal Charges, Another Pleads Guilty, and a Broker is Barred for Bilking Elderly Customer Through Variable Annuities

Published on: July 27, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

SEC Wins Asset Freeze Against Two Ex-Brokers in Alleged $5M Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an asset freeze from a court to stop the alleged ongoing fraud by ex-brokers Douglas Albert Dyer and James Hugh Brennan III. They are accused of raising over $5M from investors and improperly using their money. Both men have disciplinary histories.

According to the Commission, since 2008 Dyer and Brennan had sold purported shares in several companies to over 240 investors but did not register the stock. They allegedly moved this money into their personal accounts or to their wives’ accounts. They also purportedly did not disclose that Brennan was banned from the brokerage industry or that Dyer had been fined and suspended for unrelated unauthorized transactions involving customer accounts.

Also named in the SEC case is Broad Street Ventures, which is Brennan and Dyer’s company. Their wives are relief defendants. The regulator wants ill-gotten gains, interest, penalties, and permanent injunctions.

Ex-Investment Adviser Faces Criminal Charges for Allegedly Stealing Over $5.1M from Clients
Bradley Smegal is charged with securities fraud. The ex-Washington State investment advisor is accused of stealing over $5.1M from at least 14 clients.

Prosecutors say that between 8/07 and 1/13 Smegal persuaded clients to invest with entities that he said “guaranteed” specific return rates and were “conservative.” According to court documents, he failed to disclose he had a stake in the investments, and he moved $825,00K of the funds into his own account.

“Weekly” Investments Are Popular With Big Traders But Come With Drawbacks

Published on: July 26, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

With the trading volume for weekly short-term options having grown, our securities fraud law firm wanted to remind investors that there are risks involved in these investments. Weeklys are listed on a Thursday and expire the next Friday. Their popularity is due in part to their lower cost compared to options that expire after a longer period of time. Aggressive traders, such as hedge funds, are among the weeklys’ primary investors.

Weeklys are popular on NASDAQ, CBOE Holdings, OMX, and Intercontinental Exchange. They were introduced in 2005. Weeklys are available on the majority of liquid stocks and a number of individual equities and exchange-traded funds.

Barron’s reported last year that there were over 400 weekly options listed on exchanges. Many of them involve the most popular indexes and stocks. That said, there are negatives to investing in weeklys, including:

· A smaller stock pool

· Higher commissions

· Price executions that are not that favorable

· Lower liquidity options

Hedge Funds Sue Puerto Rico and Its Governor

Published on: July 25, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A group of hedge funds that are holding Puerto Rico debt are suing the U.S. territory and Governor Alejandro García Padilla. Monarch Alternative Capital, Aurelius Capital Management, Stone Lion Capital Partners, Covalent Capital Partner, Aurelius Capital Management, Fundamental Credit Opportunities, and a number of other funds claim that Puerto Rico and Governor García violated PROMESA, which stands for the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act. President Barack Obama signed the new debt restructuring law on June 30, which is when García issued a debt moratorium on the nearly $800 million in general obligation debt that was due on July 1 (along with other Puerto Rico debt for a collective total of about $2 billion). The hedge funds say that Governor García had no legal right to call a debt moratorium in the wake of PROMESA.

The bondholders want the court to stop the island from “unlawfully dissipating” assets before a federal oversight board is appointed. PROMESA places the U.S. territory under the supervision of the board, which is tasked with pressing for fiscal reform and supervising spending. However, the board won’t be in place for at least two months.

In their complaint, filed in United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the creditors claimed that Governor García took advantage of this time gap in implementation and is spending hundreds of million dollars in ways that garner “political favor.” The hedge funds argued that certain expenditures would have been challenged by the board if it were already in place.

The plaintiffs, as holders of general obligation bonds, say they are entitled to some of the money being spent because Puerto Rico still owes them the debt payments. They want the district court to freeze the payments that have been issued and mark them as invalid until the board can take a look at them.

SEC Charges Already-Barred Hedge Fund Manager With Fraud

Published on: July 23, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

45 years after the Securities and Exchange Commission barred Thomas D. Conrad Jr. from the industry, the SEC has filed hedge fund fraud charges against the 85-year-old Georgia man and his 55-year –old son. According to the regulator, Thomas and Stuart P. Conrad bilked investors in a $10.7M hedge fund in which the older Conrad was the primary supervisory. Also facing SEC charges are the Conrads’ unregistered advisory firms: Financial Management Corporation S.R.L. and Financial Management Corporation.

In its complaint, the SEC said that Thomas generally suspended investor payouts for over four years even though he kept issuing payouts to his son, himself, other relatives, and certain investors. The payouts included $2.3M in redemptions and monies to his wife and himself between ’10 and ’14, as well as approximately $444K to his son.

The Commission said that Thomas violated federal securities law when he didn’t tell investors that he had been barred from the industry over a disciplinary matter in 1971. Offering documents, however, spoke about Thomas’s extensive securities industry experience.

Employees of American Century and New York Life Sue over Excessive Fees with 401(K) Lawsuits

Published on: July 22, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Another two asset management firms are the subject of separate (401)K lawsuits filed by their employees . The plaintiffs claim that American Century and New York Life, respectively, charged excessive fees in their retirement savings plans.
 In Andrus et al v. New York Life Insurance Company et al , a class action lawsuit, plan participants in the the Employee Progress-Sharing Plan and the Agents Progress-Sharing Plan contend that New York Life and affiliated fiduciaries engaged in self-dealing when they kept a MainStay-branded S&P 500 index mutual fund i both retirement plans. New York Life and the subsidiaries own the MainStay brand fund.

The plaintiffs believe that they improperly benefited from “excessive fees and expenses.” They argued that because the defendants have a financial interest in the mutual fund, they neglected to look for lower-cost funds between ’10 and now. Instead, they kept the MainStay fund, which cost 35 basis points, in the two 401(k) plans. They say that this cost participants more than $3M. The plaintiffs are alleging breach of loyalty and prudence under ERISA.

Following Securities Fraud Allegations, Visium Asset Management and Alliance Bernstein Reach Preliminary Sales Deal

Published on: July 21, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Visium Asset Management has arrived at a preliminary sales deal with AllianceBernstein Holding LLP (AB). As part of the agreement, the asset manager will sell the Visium Global Fund, which was its remaining hedge fund. It was just recently that three of Visium’s traders were accused of securities fraud, including the mismarking of securities, and insider trading.

This week, former Visium Asset Management portfolio manager Stefan Lumiere pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of taking part in a scam to bilk investors. The 45-year-old allegedly inflated a bond fund’s value while overstating its liquidity. The criminal charges against him are securities fraud, conspiracy, and wire fraud.

Last month, former Visium hedge fund manager Sanjay Valvani committed suicide after he was arrested for insider trading that would have occurred from ’05 to ’11. Prosecutors said that he used confidential information about drug approvals to make illegal trades. Valvani allegedly made $25M from the insider trading. Prior to his death he pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, and securities fraud.

Dallas Cowboy Wide Receiver Sues His Former Texas Investment Adviser for Securities Fraud

Published on: July 21, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Dez Bryant, the wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboy, is suing Texas State Senator Royce West for financial fraud. West used to be Bryant’s adviser. The NFL football player is claiming breach of fiduciary and professional obligation.

West was Bryant’s adviser and lawyer. According to the Dallas Cowboy player’s Texas securities fraud case, West recommended his friend David Wells as a financial manager to Bryant even though for had more than $1K in pending judgments against him in 2010 alone.

Because of West’s recommendation, Bryant gave Wells power of attorney and signatory authority over his banks accounts. The football star said that Wells stole more than $200K from him.