Investor Lawyers Blog

Ameriprise Ordered to Pay $85OK After One of Its Brokers Bilked His Family

Published on: September 14, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering Ameriprise Financial Services (AMP) to pay $50K for failing to properly supervise and notice that one of its brokers was bilking his own family members. According to the self-regulatory organization, the registered representative took over $370K from five firm customers, which included his domestic partner, mother, grandparents, and stepfather.

From 10/11 to 9/13, the broker moved the funds to a business account. The transfers went undetected for two years because Ameriprise purportedly neglected to adequately supervise the moving of customer funds to third parties. It wasn’t until 9/13 that evidence was found that the broker had been practicing the signature of a family member.

The Ameriprise broker turned in forms to move the money from the brokerage accounts of customers into a business bank account. The transfer was under the guise of making investments. Instead, said FINRA, the broker allegedly used the money to pay himself commissions and an additional salary.

UBS Ordered To Pay Three Investors $750K in Puerto Rico Bond Fraud Case

Published on: September 13, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced that UBS Financial Services and its Puerto Rico subsidiary (UBS) must collectively pay three investors $750,000 in damages for losses they sustained from investing in UBS’s proprietary Puerto Rico closed-end bond funds and Puerto Rico bonds. The claimants are Jenny Robles Adorno, Desarrollos Jarra SE, and Jose A. Rivera.

The investors accused UBS of recklessness, fraud, and negligence. They sought compensatory damages, punitive damages, and reimbursement of commissions that they said were unlawful. In San Juan, the FINRA arbitration panel awarded Rivera $562,500, Robles $30,000 and Jarra $157,500. UBS said it was “disappointed” with the panel’s decision to award any damages to the claimants.

This is not the first Puerto Rico bond fraud arbitration case in which UBS has been ordered to pay investors. Just this March, the firm had to pay over $470,000 to three investors who said their accounts were over-concentrated in the same Puerto Rico focused investments. The claimants in that particular case alleged negligent supervision and fraud. Similarly, UBS was ordered to pay a former television executive over $1,400,000 in the fall of 2015 for over-concentrating the former customer in UBS’s proprietary funds and misrepresenting the risks of those investments.

Securities Fraud News: Another Hedge Fund Shutters, Telecom Company to Pay $1.25M for Disclosure Failures, and SEC Orders Stock Trader to Pay $1.5M Over Fraud Charges

Published on: September 13, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former SAC Trader To Close Down Hedge Fund In The Wake of Losses

Andrew Bazarian will close down his Pinyin Capital Management Hong Kong Ltd.’s hedge fund in the wake of massive losses sustained by the fund, a lack of investor interest, and the exodus of Blue Pool Capital, its largest backer. Bazarian, a former SAC trader, started the fund in 2014 with Blue Pool’s $100M pledge. He left SAC to start the pan-Asian portfolio before the firm pleaded guilty to charges of insider trading.

Bazarian’s hedge fund is not the only one to shutter because of poor returns and investors leaving the industry. In July alone, investors throughout the world withdrew about $25.2B from hedge funds. According to Bloomberg, others that have closed down hedge funds in Asia AMP Capital, Lazard Asset Management, and Pine River Capital Management.

Telecommunications Company to Pay $1.25M for Not Disclosing Credit Risks

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that Portugal Telecom SGPS S.A. will pay a $1.25M penalty for not properly disclosing the degree of credit risk involved in investments in debt instruments issued by Grupo Espirito Santo’s companies. By settling, Portugal Telecom is not denying or admitting to the findings. It has, however, consented to the regulator’s cease-and-desist order.

Securities Regulator News: NASAA Offers Guide to Protecting Senior Investors and other Vulnerable Adults, States Disclose 2015 Enforcement Statistics, and SEC to Scrutinize Firms With Rogue Brokers

Published on: September 12, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

NASAA Puts Out Practices and Procedures Guide to Protect Vulnerable Adults

The North American Securities Administrators Association has issued a guide to help investment advisory firms and broker-dealers create procedures and practices to help them identify and tackle suspected incidents of financial exploitation involving vulnerable adult clients, including senior investors and adults with diminished capacity. The guide provides steps that revolve around five key concepts:

Identifying who is a vulnerable individual
Governmental reporting
Third-party reporting
Delaying disbursement from the account of a client who is a vulnerable adult
Ongoing regulator cooperation when a disbursement is delayed or a report of suspected financial exploitation is made.

It was just recently that NASAA put into effect its Model Act to Protect Vulnerable Adults from Financial Exploitation and this guide is a companion to the act.

If you are an elderly investor or a vulnerable adult who has suffered losses due to fraud, call our senior financial fraud law firm today.

Securities Violations: Raymond James and Robert W. Baird to Pay Fines For Alleged Wrap Fee Compliance Failures, RBC Agrees to Pay $2.5M Over Proxy Statement Disclosures, and Ex- ARCP Accounting Executives Are Accused of Overstating REIT’s Performance

Published on: September 10, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Raymond James and Robert W. Baird Are Charged With Compliance Failures

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that Robert W. Baird and Co. and Raymond James & Associates (RJF) will pay $250K and $600K, respectively, to settle charges accusing them of compliance failures in their own wrap free programs. Both firms resolved the charges without admitting or denying to them. They did, however, consent to the regulator’s orders, which found that they violated the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-7.

According to the SEC’s investigation, Raymond James and Robert W. Baird did not put into place the necessary policies and procedures that would have allowed them to figure out how much in commissions their clients were charged when sub-advisers “traded away” with a brokerage firm that was not part of the wrap fee programs. As a result, said the regulator, the advisers could not let clients know the “magnitude of the costs” nor did the firm consider these commissions when trying to figure out whether the wrap fee program or sub-advisers were appropriate for clients. Because of this, claims the SEC, some clients did not know that they were paying for more than the single wrap fee for investments that were bundled.

Two ARCP Ex-Accounting Executives Face SEC and Criminal Charges For Allegedly Inflating the REIT’s Performance

Brian S. Block and Lisa P. McAlister are facing criminal and civil charges for allegedly overstating the performance of the American Reality Capital Properties (ARCP), now called VEREIT Inc. The two former ARCP accounting executives are accused of inflating a key metric that investors and analysts used to evaluate the publicly-traded real estate investment trust.

Ex-Financial Adviser of Former NBA Star Tim Duncan is Arrested in Texas

Published on: September 10, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Charles August Banks IV was arrested in San Antonio this week. Banks, is charged with two counts of wire fraud related to a $7.5M investment that former NBA basketball star Tim Duncan made with Gameday Entertainment, a sports merchandising company. Banks became Duncan’s financial adviser nearly two decades ago while working for CSI Capital management and he advised him for years.

Banks, now a renowned wine investor, is also facing a securities fraud lawsuit brought by the SEC. Although Duncan, formerly with the San Antonio Spurs, isn’t named specifically in the complaint, the regulator said that the case involves an ex-pro basketball player who was Banks’ client.

The SEC claims that Banks made material misrepresentations and omissions of key facts to the basketball player to persuade him to invest in Gameday. Among the alleged misrepresentations:

BOK Financial to Pay More Than $1.6M Over Allegations Related to Municipal Bond Scam

Published on: September 9, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that BOK Financial Corporation subsidiary BOKF NA will pay over $1.6M to resolve charges accusing the Oklahoma-based bank of ignoring signs that businessman Christopher F. Brogdon was engaged in suspect activates related to his management of municipal bond offerings for investors. Brogdon was charged by the regulator with fraud last year and he must pay back investors $85M.
The federal government accused him of collecting almost $190M through private placement offerings and muni bond offerings. Investors thought they would earn interest from money made by assisted living facilities, nursing homes, or another retirement community project. Instead, Brogdon commingled accounts and redirected investor funds to other ventures and his own expenses.

According to the regulator, BOKF and ex-senior VP Marrien Neilson found out that Brogdon was taking money out from reserve funds for the muni bond offerings and not replacing the money. They also became aware that he had neglected to file annual financial statements for the bond offerings.

Ex-MF Global Chief Jon Corzine and CFTC Arrive At Tentative Settlement

Published on: September 9, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to the New York Times, Ex-MF Global Chairman and CEO Jon S. Corzine has reached a tentative agreement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the regulator’s civil case against him. The CFTC sued him 2013 after MF Global failed and the futures brokerage firm was accused of misusing $1B in customer funds.

Corzine, 69, used to be the governor of New Jersey, a Democratic US Senator, and the co-chief of Goldman Sachs (GS). Although the settlement is not yet final, sources tell the NY Times that Corzine could be expected to pay up to $5M in penalties, which is a lot more than what the CFTC could win against him at trial. The regulator would like Corzine to pay the penalties out of his own fund and not use insurance money. He also would be expected to accept a lifelong ban from trading other people’s funds in the futures industry.

Corzine has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing related to the MF Global financial debacle. Although the CFTC has not said that Corzine was directly connected to the misuse of funds at the brokerage firm, the regulator felt that he failed to “diligently supervise” the firm as it placed clients’accounts in peril.

MF Global went into a financial tailspin after Corzine made a $6.3B bet on European sovereign debt. Rather than restore the brokerage firm to profitability, the firm began to fail and the improper transfer of customer monies increased as executives sought to enhance liquidity. MF Global was eventually liquidated in bankruptcy.

US Considers Filing Criminal Charge Against HSBC Holdings PLC Unit that May Void Deferred Prosecution Deal

Published on: September 8, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The deferred prosecution deal between a HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC) unit and the US government is now at risk as prosecutors consider whether to file a criminal charge against the bank. It was in 2012 that the HSBC said it would pay $1.92B to resolve a money laundering investigation involving its top executives and lax oversight that allowed drug cartels and terrorists entry into the U.S. financial system. HSBC admitted that it did business with sanctioned countries, such as Iran, and helped Mexican drug cartels launder funds.

As part of the deal to avoid prosecution, the bank agreed to retain an independent monitor to make sure that it complied with anti-money laundering requirements. HSBC is still on probation.

Now, however, the Justice Department is looking into whether the bank has broken any U.S. laws since the deferred prosecution deal was put in place. That deal includes a section stating that HSBC could still be held responsible for its conducted related to the money laundering charges.

SEC Bans Andrew Caspersen After $38M Financial Fraud

Published on: September 7, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Andrew Caspersen is now permanently barred from the investment industry. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the ban.

Caspersen, who used to be the managing principal at Park Hill Group and is the son of financier and philanthropist Finn M. W. Caspersen, had pleaded guilty to criminal charges of securities fraud and wires fraud. He admitted to bilking investors of over $38M and misappropriating over $8M. Park Hill fired him earlier this year.

The ex-Wall Street executive admitted to having a “gambling addiction” and his involvement in a scam to raise $95M. His fraud victims included family and friends. According to his attorney, Caspersen lost $123M by speculating on put options in the S & P index. His sentencing hearing is in November.