Investor Lawyers Blog

Mortgage REITs See a Slump

Published on: August 14, 2013 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Real estate investment trusts that purchase mortgage debt has taken a dive after an employment report that was better than forecasted spurred speculation that the Federal Reserve will begin to make its asset purchases smaller in size. According to data, the United States added 195,000 jobs in June, even though a median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey predicted only 165,000 new jobs. Meantime, mortgage securities backed by the government experienced their largest quarterly losses in 19 years during the three months leading up to the end of June. Certain mortgage REITs even had to use money that was borrowed to amplify possible returns.

Financial firms that purchase mortgage bonds and loans have been contending with speculation that the Fed will lower its $85 billion of monthly debt purchasing as the economy begins to look like it is improving. Unfortunately, a lot of mortgage REITs did not see the recent sharp rise in interest rates. These higher rates decrease the likelihood that homeowners will refinance their mortgage rates. To reflect the upped risk of holding high duration bonds in the long-term, the securities have dropped in value. That many of the REITs did not foresee the interest rates job could be an indictor that they were unprepared and have been complacent.

Mortgage REIT Fraud

SEC Stops Former Marine’s Hedge Fund Fraud That Targeted Military Folk

Published on: August 12, 2013 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission has secured an emergency order to stop a hedge fund scam run by ex-marine Clayton A. Cohn and his Market Action Advisors, a hedge fund management firm that is registered in Illinois. The regulator contends that Cohn pretended to be a be a successful trader and purposely targeted current military, other veterans, friends, relatives, and other unsophisticated investors, defrauding them of nearly $1.8 million.

Per the SEC, Cohn lied about his trader track record, the hedge fund’s performance, his intended use of investors’ proceeds, and his own stake in the fund. He invested less than 50% of investors’ funds, while using over $400,000 for personal spending, including a luxury vehicle, a mansion in Hollywood, and expensive visits to fancy nightclubs. To conceal his fraud and keep collecting investor money, Cohn allegedly created bogus hedge fund accounts statements reporting yearly returns greater than 200%.

The Commission filed its Illinois hedge fund fraud lawsuit in federal court in Chicago. The regulator says that Cohn ran Market Action Capital Management, which is a hedge fund, via Market Action Advisors. The regulator is charging him and his firm with federal securities law antifraud provision violations. The SEC wants permanent injunctions, financial penalties, and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.

AIG Sued by Nuveen Funds For Securities Fraud

Published on: August 12, 2013 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

25 Nuveen Investments Inc. funds have filed a securities fraud lawsuit against American International Group (AIG) accusing the company of federal securities laws and Illinois securities law violations, common law fraud, and unjust enrichment in the months before the 2008 US financial crisis. They want unspecified monetary damages. Also named as defendants are ex-CEO Martin J. Sullivan, ex-CFO Steven Besinger, and Joseph Casano, who was in charge of the AIG Financial Product unit.

Among the funds suing AIG are the Nuveen Large Cap Value Fund, the Nuveen Equity Premium Opportunity Fund, and the Dow 30 Enhanced Premium. The funds purchased AIG securities at prices that were purportedly inflated and dropped when the truth was revealed.

The plaintiffs claim that they lost tens of billions of dollars in part because of materially misleading and false statements that AIG and others allegedly made. They contend that when the housing market started to fail, AIG told analysts that the risks it faced were “modest and remote” and that they didn’t see any potential financial losses tied to the swaps business.

Investors Claim They Lost $300M in Ohio Ponzi Fraud Lawsuit

Published on: August 10, 2013 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

In Ohio, investors are suing Glen Galemmo for allegedly running a Ponzi scam. The securities fraud lawsuit claims that approximately 100 to 200 investors lost more than $300 million. Galemmo is now named in two complaints related to these claims. His wife, Kristine Galemmo, is also being sued, as are his business partner Edward Blackledge and numerous investment funds, LLC, and companies. Plaintiffs are grouped as the Galemmo Victims Fund I and II.

The Cincinnati money manager ran Galemmo Investment Group, Queen City Investment Fund, and other entities for over a year. However, last month, he sent out a mass email to investors explaining that Queen City Investments, which he owns, was stopping operations. He told them not to come to the building because they would not be let in and that his lawyer had told him to avoid contact with them. He said that their inquiries should go through the IRS.

According to the complaint, Galemmo claimed to have over $20 million in assets under management. When the S & P 500 was declining between ’06 and ’11 he purportedly said that he’d made earning returns of 432% by investing in individual stock.

US Will Likely Arrest Two Ex-JPMorgan Chase Employees Over Trading Losses Related to the London Whale Debacle

Published on: August 10, 2013 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The United States Government is expected to announce criminal charges against two ex-JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) employees over allegations that they tried to cover up trading losses last year related to the London Whale fiasco. The ex-employees are Javier Martin-Artajo, the executive who was in charge of supervising the trading strategy, and Julien Grout, a trader that worked under him. Prosecutors also may impose penalties on the investment bank over this matter.

The securities fraud allegations stem from a probe into whether JPMorgan employees at its London offices tried to inflate certain trades’ values on the banks’ books, and charges could be filed over the falsification of documents and the mismarking of books. The criminal probe also has looked at whether the firm’s London traders engaged in the type of market manipulation that let them inflate their own positions’ value.

JPMorgan first revealed the losses at the London office May 2012. The trades were made by Bruno Iksil, dubbed the London Whale because of the vastness of his holdings. The bank would go on to lose over $6.2 billion when the trades failed. Other traders also were purportedly involved. They used derivatives to bet on the health of huge corporations.

Judge Approves Creditor Vote on Jefferson County, Alabama’s Bankruptcy Plan

Published on: August 9, 2013 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A US judge has paved the path for the creditors of Jefferson County, Alabama to vote on a plan to conclude what is being called the second biggest municipal bankruptcy in US history. Now, the county’s creditors—they are owed $4.2 billion—have until October 7 to vote.

Most of them have already agreed to the negiotiated plan, which would deliver just $1.735 billion to warrant holders of the county’s sewer system that are owed $3.078 billion. A deal has also been reached over non-sewer debt.

It will be up to US Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett to look into a timeline that would wrap up Jefferson County’s bankruptcy. He is the one who approved the vote on the plan. If creditors the plan, it will need to be confirmed during a hearing that would take place in November.

SEC Adopts Rules to Protect Investors that Have Brokerage Firm-Held Assets

Published on: August 7, 2013 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

In a 3-2 vote, the SEC adopted rules to provide substantially more protections to investors who have assets held by registered broker-dealers. SEC Chairman Mary Jo White issued a statement saying she was confident the rules would give customers’ assets key “additional safeguards,” including the strengthening of audit requirements and enhanced oversight.

Under the new rules, broker-dealers would have to file reports with the Commission that are supposed to lead to greater compliance with financial responsibility rules. Brokerages have to start filing new quarterly reports with the regulator and yearly reports with the Securities Investor Protection Corporation by year’s end. Effective June 1, 2014, they will have to file yearly reports with the SEC.

These latest rules amend the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934’s Rule 17a-11 and Rule 17a-5. Per the rule amendments, a broker-dealer with custody of customers’ assets will have to file a compliance report with the Commission and work with an independent public accountant that is PCAOB-registered to put together a report based on a study of statements in the compliance report. Brokerage firms without custody of these assets need to submit an exemption report with the regulator noting its exemption from the requirements. Also, whether/not a broker-dealer has custody of clients’ assets, a firm has to let SRO or SEC staff look at the independent public accountant’s work papers if this information is needed to examine the brokerage firm and the accountant is allowed to talk about its findings with examiners.

Citigroup Must Pay $11M Claimant for Royal Bank of Scotland Investment Losses, Says FINRA Arbitration Panel

Published on: August 7, 2013 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A FINRA arbitration panel has decided that Citigroup (C) and Edward J. Mulcahy, one of the firm’s ex-branch managers, has to pay $11 million to investor John Fiorilla. Fiorilla is a legal adviser to the Holy See who went to Citigroup because he wanted to de-risk a $16 million stock position in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

According to the claimant, he asked Citigroup to employ derivatives to assist in hedging his position against losses but the firm did not fulfill the request. When the market failed in 2008 his account suffered over $15 million in losses.

Fiorilla is claiming breach of contract, failure to control and supervise, breach of fiduciary duty, gross negligence, negligence, and other violations. His claim against Mulcahy is over an alleged failure to supervise.

Texas Money Manager Sued by SEC and CFTC Over Alleged Forex Trading Scam

Published on: August 6, 2013 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have filed separate yet parallel securities fraud lawsuits against a Texas money manager accused of bilking investors in a foreign-exchange trading scheme. Kevin G. White allegedly took approximately $1.7 million of the $7 million of investor funds he raised by making false claims that his currency trading strategy had brought about returns of over 393% since it was first implemented in January 2009.

The Commission filed its Texas Securities case in federal court early last month. The regulator believes that White and his companies used bogus credentials and its “can’t miss trading strategy” to reel investors into its scam when, in reality, the money manager was experiencing forex trading losses and misappropriating customer funds.

The CFTC’s action seeks to freeze White’s assets, as well of those of RFF GP LLC, Revelation Forex Fund LP, and KGW Capital Management LLC. Like the SEC, this regulator wants trading bans, financial penalties, and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.

Liquidators of Bear Stearns Hedge Funds Sue S & P, Moody’s and Fitch for $1.12B

Published on: August 6, 2013 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Liquidators are suing Moody’s Investors Service (MCO), Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings over their issuing of allegedly fraudulent and inflated ratings for the securities belonging to two offshore Bear Stearns (BSC) hedge funds. The plaintiffs are seeking $1.12 billion.

The credit raters are accused of misrepresenting their autonomy, the timeliness of their residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) ratings, and the quality of their models. Because of the purportedly tainted ratings for securities that were supposedly “high-grade,” the funds lost $1.12B.

The funds, which were operated by Matthew Tannin and Ralph Cioffi, failed in 2007. The US government later pursued the two men for securities fraud, but they were acquitted. They did, however, settle an SEC securities case over related allegations last year.