Investor Lawyers Blog

SEC Files Charges Against Former Broker-Dealer Owner Over Fraudulent Stock Sales

Published on: December 2, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Vinay Kumar Nevatia with making fraudulent stock sales. According to the regulator, Kumar sold about $900,000 of stock in CSS Corp. Technologies Limited. The stock in the privately held data technology company supposedly belonged to him even though these were shares that he had already bought for other people a few years back.

The SEC claims Kumar conducted the sales via secret wire transfers, got the stock transfer agent to record the bogus transactions, and stole investors’ money to use as his own. He also purportedly gave the earlier share owners bogus updates about their investments even after he sold their stock off to others so that they would think that the shares still belonged to them.

Kumar is not registered with the Commission and he does not have a license to trade securities. He also is accused of using numerous aliases while residing in Palo Alto, Ca. The SEC is charging him with violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It wants Kumar to pay a financial penalty and give back ill-gotten gains. The regulator is also looking to get permanent injunctions.

SEC Commissioner Wants Elder Fraud at Top of 2015 Agenda

Published on: November 29, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Michael S. Piwowar says that he wants investigations into elder fraud to stay one of the agency’s top priorities in 2015. Financial fraud targeting seniors is costing this demographic big time. According to a 2011 study by MetLife and the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech senior financial fraud victims sustain around $2.9 billion in losses yearly.

One of the reasons for this is that older Americans tend to make more vulnerable targets for fraudsters. They are easier to deceive with bogus sales pitches and some of them may suffer from debilitating mental or cognitive illnesses that can make it hard for them to know they are being bilked.

Also, scammers like to go after elder investors because many of them have accumulated enough retirement money that they have significant funds that fraudsters can steal. Unfortunately, a senior that is the victim of elder financial fraud may no longer have the time or be at an age when he/she can earn back whatever is lost, which can make his/her retirement years a struggle.

Citigroup Global Markets Ordered by FINRA to Pay $15M Fine for Supervisory Failures Involving Equity Research, IPO Roadshows

Published on: November 29, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says it is fining Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (C) $15 million for not adequately overseeing communications between clients and equity researchers and trading staff and sales members, as well as for letting one of its analysts indirectly take part in road shows that marketed IPOs to investors.

According to the self-regulatory organization, from 1/05 to 2/14, Citigroup did not satisfy its supervisory duty related to possible selective dissemination involving non-public research to clients and trading and sales teams. Citigroup had put out about 100 internal warnings about equity research analyst communications during this time. Yet, despite detecting violations related to client communications and selective dissemination, notes FINRA, there were long delays before the firm would discipline analysts. Also, contends the regulator, the disciplinary measures were not severe enough to discourage repeat violations.

The SRO reports that “idea dinners” were held, hosted by the equity research analysts at Citigroup, and attended by certain trading and sales personnel, as well as institutional clients. At the dinners, the analysts would talk about stock picks that were sometimes not in alignment with their published research. Even though Citigroup knew there was the risk of improper communications at these gatherings, the firm did not adequately monitor communications or give analysts proper guidance regarding what was considered permissible communications. In another purported instance, an analyst that worked with a Citigroup affiliate in Taiwan gave out research data about Apple Inc. to certain clients. A Citigroup equity sales employee then selectively disseminated the information to other clients.

Securities Fraud Headlines: ConvergEx Group Subsidiary Gets Criminal Sentence for Fraud, Ohio Man Gets Prison Term for Scam, Two Men Face Charges Over Predictive Software, and Fund Manager Admits to $17M Ponzi Scam

Published on: November 28, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

CGM Limited Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud

CGM Limited, a subsidiary of ConvergEx, must pay a criminal penalty and restitution of $26 million for conspiracy to commit both securities fraud and wire fraud, as well as for wire fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice says that CGM limited charged clients millions of dollars in hidden and unwarranted fees. CovergEx is a global trading and brokerage firm. CGM Limited pleaded guilty to the criminal charges.

The government says that CGM Limited and certain traders and executives bilked clients by lying to them and taking the money in the form of fees. CGM Limited admitted that there were ConvergEx Group broker-dealers that regularly sent over securities trade orders so a mark-up could be taken when the orders were executed.

Wells Fargo Sued Over Allegedly Biased Lending in Chicago

Published on: November 28, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Cook County, Illinois is suing Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) for engaging in purportedly predatory and discriminatory lending practices in the Chicago area. The county said that the U.S. mortgage lending company targeted female, Hispanic, and black borrowers.

Per the mortgage lending lawsuit, for over a decade Wells Fargo discriminated against female and minority borrowers in the area to increase profits. Cook County claims that the bank went after borrowers from the time the loans were created through foreclosure and even during equity stripping, which included unnecessary or inflated fees and rates and refinancing penalties. The county believes its property tax base was eroded, it had to spend money to deal with abandoned properties, and some 26,000 borrowers were impacted. Cook County says damages could be as high as $300 million or greater.

It wants to stop Wells Fargo’s alleged practices and is seeking punitive and compensatory damages. Cook County also notes that certain practices involved the former Wachovia Corp, which Wells Fargo now owns. Meantime, the bank says that the accusations in the mortgage lending lawsuit have no merit.

Unregistered Florida-Based Broker Charged with Securities Fraud

Published on: November 26, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The SEC has charged Albert Scipione with securities fraud allegedly involving stealing investor money in a day trading scam. Scipione, who is an unregistered broker, has already pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a parallel case.

According to the SEC, Scipione and Matthew P. Ionno pursued investors to set up accounts at their Traders Café for day trading. This involved the swift selling and buying of stocks during the day to see if stock values will rise or fall while the stock is owned so a quick profit can be made. Traders Café, which belonged to two men, was never registered with the Commission as a brokerage firm.

Scipione purportedly pushed the company’s trading platform while making bogus misrepresentations to investors about high trading leverage, fees, commissions, and their assets’ safety. The regulator says that Scipione and Ionno raised over $500,000. Investors were told that their money would be only used for day trading or certain other specified uses. Instead, a lot of customers found that they couldn’t trade at all.

Goldman Sachs, HSBC Sued For Manipulating Precious Metal Prices

Published on: November 26, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A class action securities case is accusing Goldman Sachs Group (GS), HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBC), BASF SE (BAS), and Standard Bank Group Ltd. of manipulating prices for palladium and platinum. According to lead plaintiff Modern Settings LLC, the companies used insider information about sales orders and client purchases to make money from price movements for the precious metals, which are used in jewelry, cars, and other products.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, is the first of its kind in the United States. Similar complaints have been filed in New York accusing banks of rigging gold’s benchmark price.

According to this securities case, the defendants took part in daily conferences to establish the global price benchmarks for palladium and platinum. They said that this impacted derivative products based on the metals, while giving the four companies the ability to make trades in the metals prior to the movements. This purportedly resulted in in “substantial profits” for the banks, while harming those not in the know. Class action members are said to have lost value in tens of thousands of transaction.

HSBC to Pay $12.5M Settlement to SEC Over Charges That It Violated Securities Laws

Published on: November 25, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging HSBC Private Bank (HSBC) with violating U.S. federal securities laws. According to the regulator, the Swiss private banking arm did not register with the agency before providing clients in this country with cross-border brokerage and investment advisory services.

HSBC Private Bank as agreed to pay $12.5 million to resolve the SEC’s charges. It is also admitting to wrongdoing.

According to the SEC order over the settled administrative proceedings, the private banking arm and its predecessors started providing the services at issue over 10 years ago, growing its clients base to up to 368 U.S. accounts while collecting about $5.7 million in fees. Banking personnel came to this country over three dozen times to solicit clients, offer advice, and fulfill securities transactions. The managers who completed these tasks were not registered to provide these services nor were they affiliated with a registered brokerage firm or investment adviser. These managers also communicated via e-mail and postal mail with clients in the U.S.

FINRA Orders Houston-Based USCA Capital Advisors LLC to Pay $3.8M to 19 ExxonMobil Retirees

Published on: November 24, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel said that USCA Capital Advisors LLC must pay over $3.8 million to 19 ExxonMobil retirees whose investments were mismanaged the Houston-based wealth management firm. The self-regulatory organization also says that the Texas investment advisory firm misled the investors about its trading strategy.

It is not uncommon for Houston financial advisers to target ExxonMobil retirees as clients. The oil company has a huge outfit and other operations in the area. According to the investors, USCA was tasked with handling their retirement savings because of promises the investment advisors made to protect, oversee, and grow their accounts.

At a presentation by USCA RIA LLC, which is USCA’s investment advisory arm, advisers told investors about their Total Return model program, which they claimed would up S & P 500 gains while lowering the risks involved in trading equities. Investors said they were told the strategy would hold primarily exchange-traded funds and U.S. stocks in a rising market and turn the money into cash when the markets dropped. Trades were to be stimulated by “objective technical factors.”

SEC Enforcement: Wedbush Settles SEC Probe for $2.4M, High-Frequency Trading Firm Gets $16M Penalty, and the Regulator Suspends Companies Touting Ebola Treatment

Published on: November 22, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Wedbush Settles Market Access Violation Case for $2.44M

Wedbush Securities has agreed to settle a market access violations case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by admitting to wrongdoing and paying $2.44 million. The brokerage firm has also agreed to hire an independent consultant.

According to the SEC order, Wedbush violated the market access rule because it didn’t have the proper risk controls in place before giving customers access to the market. Among the customers that were given this access were thousands of anonymous overseas traders.