Investor Lawyers Blog

Texas Securities Fraud: Raymond James Financial Services Pays Elderly Senior Investor About $1.8M Following Loss of Appeal

Published on: December 2, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Raymond James Financial Services has paid the $1.79M Dallas securities arbitration award plus interest it owes to Hurshel Tyler and the estate of his wife Mildred. They filed their claim with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Both were in their 80’s.

They contend that they were advised by an ex-Raymond James representative to take their $3.5M in bond funds and place them in variable life insurance and variable annuities. Unfortunately, the life insurance policy was tied to $2M in improper loans, interest obligations, and ongoing tax that made it difficult to return the financial product to the brokerage firm. Tyler and Mildred’s estate claim that the stockbroker, Daul Davis, made a recommendation to them that was unsuitable.

Davis not only advised the Tylers to liquidate their municipal bond portfolio and make the new investments, but also, unknown to the couple, he moved them from one variable annuity to another, which cost them a significant surrender fee and commission. The Tylers’ Texas stockbroker lawyer says that by making the couple’s son the new annuity’s annuitant, the financial firm and Davis earned over twice the commission than if Hurshel Tyler had been the annuitant. (Usually, the annuitant and annuity owner are the same person. However, the insurance company that was involved only offered a 3.25% commission for annuitants over 80 years of age, while the commission for someone younger than that was 7.5%)

A FINRA arbitration panel sided with Tylers. The couple had sought to recoup their money, but instead panel members instead awarded them with compensatory damages.

Raymond James went on to appeal that decision. The broker-dealer argued that the couple should have given the annuities back. They also contended that they shouldn’t have to pay the couple’s $250K in legal fees because Florida, which is where the financial firm is based, doesn’t allow for this type of award.

Although Raymond James has gone ahead and paid the arbitration award, the broker-dealer maintains that the payment is unjust. The financial firms claims that not only did the couple make over $800,000 while the accounts were under its watch, but also, any losses they sustained occurred after they moved the accounts to a different broker-dealer. Raymond James says that despite disagreeing with the FINRA panel’s ruling, it has gone ahead and paid what it considers an “erroneous award” because in the long run doing so now would be less costly than continuing to contest it.

This Texas securities arbitration award is the largest one that Raymond James has ever had to pay.

Raymond James Pays Highest Arbitration Award in History, LifeHealthPro, November 30, 2011
After appeal fails, RJ forks over $1.8M to 87-year-old client, Investment News, November 30, 2011

More Blog Posts:
Former Texan and First Capital Savings and Loan To Pay $4.5M for Alleged Foreign Currency Ponzi Scheme, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, November 11, 2011
Texas Securities Fraud: SEC Moves to Freeze Assets of Stewardship Fund LP, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, November 5, 2011
Houston Judge Overturns $9.2M Securities Fraud Ruling Against Morgan Keegan, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, October 11, 2011 Continue Reading ›

Securities Claims Accusing Merrill Lynch of Concealing Its Auction-Rate Securities Practices Are Dismissed by Appeals Court

Published on: November 30, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has affirmed a district court’s decision to dismiss securities fraud claims accusing Merrill Lynch & Co. of hiding its ARS practices to manipulate the market. The case had been filed by plaintiff Colin Wilson on behalf of all buyers between March 2003 and Feb. 13, 2008 that purchased ARS for which Merrill was the dealer.

Wilson contended that although until July 2007 Merrill Lynch did not allow its ARS auctions to fail, in the couple of months that followed the broker-dealer did not put in support bids during at least 34 auction-rate securities issuances. As a result, those auctions did fail. Wilson also claimed that because Merrill Lynch did not appropriately disclose the full scope of its ARS practices, the financial firm was sending out a false signal that the market was sustainable despite there being not enough of an investor demand for the instruments.

The district court threw out the Wilson’s ARS case after finding that Merrill’s disclosure did not mislead investors. Now, the appeals court is affirming. It found that if, as Wilson says, Merrill intended to put in support bids for every auction unless it decided to let certain ones fail or get out of the market in general, then the court believes that the broker-dealer gave fair disclosure of all this. The appeals court also didn’t agree with Wilson’s allegation that Merrill Lynch knew without a doubt that if it didn’t intervene an ARS auction was sure to fail.

This is the first appellate ruling involving securities class litigation over the demise of the ARS market. Upon the market’s decline beginning 2007, Merrill Lynch and other large broker-dealers started letting auction-rate securities auctions fail. When they completely stopped their support, the market became illiquid. A number of investors have since filed ARS lawsuits seeking to recover their money.

Although Merrill appears to have won this case, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas founder and stockbroker fraud attorney William Shepherd notes, “This is not the huge victory Merrill claims. The court did NOT find that Merrill did not engage in wrongdoing in the sale of auction rate securities (ARS) to its clients, most of whom were led to falsely believe that these ARS investments were similar to commercial paper or short-term treasury bills. This case is instead concerned with “market manipulation,” a type of securities fraud claim that is rarely brought and almost never successful. In order to win this case, among other hurdles the plaintiffs would have to demonstrate that Merrill’s practices were intentional and were intended to change the market value of the securities. Also, this decision is by the federal appeals court in New York, which mysteriously decides many cases in favor of Wall Street.”

2d Cir. Affirms Merrill Off the Hook In Investor Suit Over ARS Disclosures, BNA, November 16, 2011
Read the full opinion (PDF)

More Blog Posts:
SEC and SIFMA Divided Over Whether Merrill Lynch Can Be Held Liable for Alleged ARS Market Manipulation, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, July 29, 2011 Raymond James Settles Auction-Rate Securities Case with Indiana Securities Division for $31M, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, August 27, 2011
District Court in Texas Decides that Credit Suisse Securities Doesn’t Have to pay Additional $186,000 Arbitration Award to Luby’s Restaurant Over ARS, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, June 2, 2011 Continue Reading ›

Former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Told Hedge Funds About Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Bailouts in Advance

Published on: November 30, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to Bloomberg.com, former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told a number of Wall Street executives in advance that the government was planning on Taking Control of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This information, reportedly delivered to them at the Eton Park Capital Management LP offices on July 21, 2008 when Paulson was still in office, came just one day after he told the New York Times that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve were inspecting both mortgage giants’ books and that he expected that this would give the markets a sign of confidence.

There were about a dozen people present at the Eton Park gathering, including the hedge fund’s founder Eric Mindich, at least five former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. alumni, Lone Pine Capital LLC founder Stephen Mandel, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC’s Daniel Och, TPG-Axon Capital Management LP’s Dinakar Singh, Kynikos Associates Ltd.’s James Chanos, GSO Capital Partners LP co-founder Bennett Goodman, Evercore Partners Inc.’s Roger Altman, and Quadrangle Group LLC co-founder Steven Rattner.

Paulson reportedly spoke about placing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae into “conservatorship,” which would then allow the firms to stay in business. He said that the two government-sponsored enterprises’ stock, as well as numerous classes of preferred stock, would be eliminated. One fund manager who was there that day said he was surprised at Paulson’s wiliness to reveal such details.

Paulson did not do anything illegal when he gave out this insider information. However, any of the executives who were there today could have traded on this inside information. Whether anyone did is a mystery, seeing as firm-specific short stock sales cannot be tracked with public documents.

The US government seized Frannie and Freddie a couple of weeks after the Eton Park gathering and control of the firms was handed over to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

At the time, Paulson said that the failure of Freddie and Fannie was not an option—considering that over $5 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and debt that the two of them had issued belonged to central banks and other investors throughout the world.

Last year, the Los Angeles Times reported that taxpayer loss from the government takeover could go as high as almost $400 billion. The FHFA said it was looking to offset some of this by getting billions of dollars back from banks that sold Fannie and Freddie bad loans. By September of 2010—two years after the seizure—the cost of the bailouts had already hit $148.2 million and concerns arose when the Obama Administration announced that it was raising the $400 billion cap on the government’s commitment to the two mortgage giants through 2012.

Our securities fraud lawyers represent clients though sustained severe losses when the housing market collapsed. Unfortunately, broker misconduct contributed to a number of these losses.

How Paulson Gave Hedge Funds Advance Word of Fannie Mae Rescue, Bloomberg.com, November 29, 2011

Losses from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac seizures may near $400 billion, Los Angeles Times, September 16, 2011

U.S. Seizes Mortgage Giants, Wall Street Journal, September 8, 2008

Related Web Resources:
MF Global Shortfall May Be More than $1.2B, Says Trustee, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, November 26, 2011

Bonds Defeat Stocks For the First Time Since Prior to the Civil War, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, November 26, 2011

Wells Investment Securities Agrees to $300,000 Fine by FINRA for Alleged Use of Misleading Marketing Materials for REIT Offerings, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, November 23, 2011

LPL Financial Ordered to Pay $100K for Lack of Adequate Oversight that Resulted in Unsuitable Investments for Clients

Published on: November 29, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

LPL Financial must pay $100K for its improper supervision of a broker. The Oregon Division of Financial and Corporate Securities, which fined the financial firm, reports that LPL Financial has put in place better oversight procedures since the violation was discovered. LPL Financial is a LPL Investment Holdings Inc. division.

According to the state’s securities division, Jack Kleck, an LPL Financial branch manager, sold risky gas and oil partnership-related investments to almost 36 residents. A lot of these clients were elderly seniors for whom these investments were unsuitable (considering their investment goals and age). Some even lacked the mental capacity to make such investment choices.

LPL Financial is accused of committing securities law violations, including not making sure that company procedures and policy were enforced and inadequately supervising Kleck, whose securities license was taken away in 2007. He was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.

Sale of Interest in Private Placement Offerings by Medical Capital Holdings, Provident Royalties DBSI Leads to FINRA Order that Investors Get $3.2M in Restitution

Published on: November 29, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has ordered another 10 individuals and 8 financial firms to pay $3.2M in restitution to clients who were sold interest in risky private placements that were issued by DBSI, Inc., Medical Capital Holdings, Inc., and Provident Royalties, LLC. The parties that were sanctioned allegedly sold the interests without having reasonable grounds to recommend the securities to customers. The SRO believes there were inadequate supervisory systems in place.

FINRA fined the following parties for allegedly failing to reasonably investigate the private placement offerings to ensure that the firms making the sales were fulfilling their obligation to customers.

• NEXT Financial Group, Inc.: $2 million in restitution and a $50,000 fine. VP Steven Lynn Nelson was fined $10,000 related Provident Royalties private placements sales.

• Investors Capital Corporation: About $400,000 in restitution over Provident Royalties private placement sales and a CIP Leveraged Fund Advisors-offering.

• Garden State Securities, Inc.: $300,000 related to a Medical Capital private placement. Kevin John DeRosa was fined $25,000. Vincent Michael Bruno, who is chief compliance officer, will pay a $10,000 fine.

• Capital Financial Services: Clients will get $200,000. Ex-principal Brian W. Boppre is fined $10,000. Private placements from both Medical Capital and Provident Royalties were involved.

• National Securities Corporation: $175,000 in restitution related to the sale of Provident Royalties and Medical Capital private placements. Director Matthew G. Portes was suspended and fined $10,000.

• Equity Services, Inc.: Nearly $164,000 in restitution and a $50,000 fine. Sr. VP Stephen Anthony Englese was fined $10,000 while representative Anthony Paul Campagna must pay $25,000.

• Securities America, Inc.: Fined $250,000.

• Newbridge Securities Corporation: A $25,000 fine related to private placements sold by DBSI and Medical Capital. Ex-Chief Compliance Officer Robin Fran Bush was fined $15,000.

• Former Meadowbrook Securities CEO and President of LLC Leroy H. Paris II must pay a $10,000 fine related to the sale of Medical Capital and Provident Royalties private placements.

• Michael D. Shaw was barred from the securities industry. He was previously associated with VSR Financial Services, Inc.

Between ’01-’09, Medical Capital Holdings was able to raise about $2.2 billion through the private placement offerings of promissory notes. Over 20,000 investors participated. Meantime, from September ’06 to January ’09, Provident Asset Management, LLC sold and marketed limited partnerships and stock in 23 private placements issued by Provident Royalties. More than $485 million was raised from over 7,700 investors who made their purchases through over 50 retail broker-dealers. Last year, however, a number of the private placement deals soured, causing a number of broker-dealers that sold them to shut down, while the investors sustained financial losses.

FINRA Sanctions Eight Firms and 10 Individuals for Selling Interests in Troubled Private Placements, Including Medical Capital, Provident Royalties and DBSI, Without Conducting a Reasonable Investigation, FINRA, November 29, 2011

FINRA fines eight firms for private placement sale, Reuters, November 29, 2011

More Blog Posts:
FINRA Wants Brokers Selling Regulation D Private Placements to Take Part in Tougher Due Diligence Process, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, June 7, 2011

Boogie Investment Group Inc. Fails Because of Fraudulent Private Placements by Provident Royalties LLC and Medical Capital Holdings Inc., Stockbroker Fraud Blog, October 27, 2011

Citigroup’s $285M Settlement With the SEC Is Turned Down by Judge Rakoff

Published on: November 28, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff has turned down the proposed $285M settlement between the SEC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. However, unlike with the SEC’s tentative $33M settlement with Bank of America that he rejected, eventually approving a $150 million settlement between both parties-this time, Rakoff is ordering the SEC and Citigroup to trial.

The SEC claimed Citigroup sold Class V Funding III right as the housing market fell apart in 2007 and then bet against the $1 billion mortgage-linked collateralized debt obligation. Meantime, the financial firm allegedly failed to tell clients about this conflict of interest. Investors would go on to lose nearly $700 million over the CDO, while Citigroup ended up making about $160 million.

To many observers, Rakoff’s decision doesn’t come as a surprise. He has expressed concern with the SEC’s handling of securities cases for some time. In his ruling today, Rakoff was very clear in stating that he didn’t believe the tentative agreement was “fair… reasonable… adequate, nor in the public interest.” He also called for the “underlying facts” and made it clear that the SEC’s typical boilerplate settlement, which usually involves the other party agreeing to the terms but not admitting to or denying wrongdoing, was not going to suffice.

Until now, the SEC’s settlement policy has allowed the Commission to declare a victory while letting defendants get away with not acknowledging any wrongdoing so that private plaintiffs cannot use such an outcome in litigation against them. Now, however, Rakoff wants the court and the public to actually learn whether or not Citigroup acted improperly.

Also in his opinion, Rakoff spoke about how the current settlement doesn’t do anything for the investors that Citigroup allegedly defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars. Not only that but the SEC isn’t promising to compensate the alleged securities fraud victims.

For now, the trial between Citigroup and the SEC is scheduled for July 2012. However, the Commission could decide to appeal Rakoff’s ruling and ask an appellate court to either make him accept the $285 million settlement or appoint a new judge to the case. According to the New York Times, however, this could prove challenging because a writ of mandamus would be required.

Our securities fraud law firm has had it with financial firms defrauding investors and then getting away with this type of misconduct. It is our job to help our clients recoup their losses whether via arbitration or in court.

Behind Rakoff’s Rejection of Citigroup Settlement, NY Times, November 28, 2011
Judge to SEC: Stop settling, start really suing, OC Register, November 28, 2011
Read Judge Rakoff’s Opinion

More Blog Posts:
Citigroup’s $285M Mortgage-Related CDO Settlement with Raises Concerns About SEC’s Enforcement Practices for Judge Rakoff, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, November 9, 2011
Bank of America To Settle SEC Charges Regarding Merrill Lynch Acquisition Proxy-Related Disclosures for $150 Million, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, February 15, 2010
Ex-Goldman Sachs Director Rajat Gupta Pleads Not Guilty to Insider Trading Charges, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, October 26, 2011 Continue Reading ›

FINRA May Put Forward Another Proposal About Possible SEC Rule Regarding Fiduciary Duty

Published on: November 28, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to FINRA CEO and Chairman Richard G. Ketchum, the SRO may put out a second concept proposal about its stance regarding disclosure obligations related to a possible Securities and Exchange Commission rulemaking about formalizing a uniform fiduciary duty standard between broker-dealers and investment advisers. Currently, the 1940 Investment Advisers Act defines the investment advisers’ fiduciary obligation to their clients, while broker-dealers are upheld to suitability rules that will be superseded next August by two FINRA rules regarding broker-dealer suitability standards.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s Section 913, however, said that it is SEC’s responsibility to determine whether these current regulatory and legal standards s are still effective and if any regulatory shortcomings that exist need to be filled. In July 2010, the SEC asked stakeholders for feedback about this mandates. After receiving over 3,000 public comments, it issued a study recommending that there be a uniform fiduciary standard for both types of representatives when giving advice to retail clients. The SEC could put out its proposed rule by the end of this year.

FINRA is working with the Commission on this and plans to stay involved in the process. It was just last year that the SRO put out a concept proposal seeking public comment about the idea that broker-dealers should have to provide retail investors with certain disclosures at the start of a business relationship. These clients would be required to give a written statement detailing the kids of services and accounts they provide, any conflicts of interests, and limits on duties that they are entitled to expect. FINRA said that regardless of what a unified fiduciary standard would look like, retail investors would benefit from getting this disclosure document at the start and that such a mandate is an “outright necessity.

MF Global Shortfall May Be More than $1.2B, Says Trustee

Published on: November 26, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to trustee James Giddens, MF Global Inc. may have a greater than $1.2B shortfall in US segregated customer accounts. Giddens has been tasked with overseeing the failed company’s liquidation.

Previously, the estimated shortfall had been $593 million. Now, however, that estimate has likely changed. Giddens says that it will take $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion dollars to distribute 60% of what should have been found in the accounts of customers. He has noted that how much of the assets he can access is not the same as the shortfall amount. Giddens is reportedly close to exhausting the money that he does control.

$5.45 billion in money from customer accounts were frozen on the last day of October, one day after an MF Global unit reported that client funds (Commodity Futures Trading Commission rules say these should have been segregated) had experienced a material shortfall. Parent company MF Global Holdings Inc. then sought bankruptcy protection.

Bonds Defeat Stocks For the First Time Since Prior to the Civil War

Published on: November 26, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to Bloomberg.com, the largest gains in bonds in nearly 10 years have overtaken returns on stocks over the last 3 decades. This is the first time that this has occurred since before the American Civil War. Bonds reportedly have become assets to buy because the US inflation rate had a 1.5% average this year and the Federal Reserve made the decision to keep target interest rates for overnight loans between banks at close to 0 through 2013.

Bianco Research reports that long-term government bonds have added 11% annually on average over the last thirty years—defeating the S & P 500’s 10.8% rise. Prior to this last 30-year period, stocks had been outperforming bonds over every 3-decade period since 1861.

More 2011 facts as reported by Bloomberg:

Former Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC Employee Faces SEC Charges for Creating Fake Trades to Enable Ponzi Scam

Published on: November 23, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

David Kugel, who was a long time Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BMIS), has been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with fraud. Kugel is accused of making fake trades to keep Madoff’s multi-billion dollar Ponzi scam running. He has consented to settling the securities fraud charges.

The SEC claims that Kugel, who worked for Madoff for nearly 40 years, was asked by the Ponzi mastermind to turn backdated arbitrage trade information into fake trades. Kugel’s own BMIS account included backdated trades. While some of the trades imitated successful ondx made by Kugel for BMIS, others were founded on historical facts that he got from old newspapers.

Over a number of years Kugel even withdrew almost $10 million in profits from these bogus trades in his own BMIS. SEC New York Regional Office George S. Canellos claims that Kugel knew such profits were fake.

Two other people accused of setting up fake trades from the information that Kugel provided were Joann Crupi and Annette Bongiorno. Both allegedly asked him for backdated data about trades that added up to millions of dollars. They would then take the information and design trades that equaled those figures. These bogus trades showed up as trade confirmations on investors’ account statements.

The SEC filed securities charges against the two women last year. The Commission claims that Bongiorno regularly set up bogus books and records and misled investors via phone calls, trade confirmations, and account statements. She also is accused of setting up false trades in her own BMIS counts that allowed her to cash out millions of dollars more than what was put in. Meantime, Crupi was accused of deciding what accounts to cash out and which investors should receive checks as Madoff’s scam stood on the brink of collapse. The two women are facing criminal charges over their alleged involvement. They have denied any wrongdoing.

Prosecutors have filed parallel criminal charges against Kugel. On Monday, he pleaded guilty to six criminal counts, including securities fraud, conspiracy, and bank fraud. He will be sentenced in May.

Meantime, Irving Picard, who has been appointed as the trustee in charge of helping Madoff’s Ponzi victims from recouping their losses, is seeking at least $22.2 million from Kugel and his family.

Ponzi Scams
A Ponzi scheme can be described as a multi-level marketing operation. The director solicits investments while promising clients a given return rate. However, rather than paying investors from real profits, the principal from new investors is used to compensate earlier investors. Ponzi scams can result in devastating losses for investors once the money dries up.

SEC Charges Longtime Madoff Employee With Creating Fake Trades, SEC, November 21, 2011
Read the SEC Complaint (PDF)

Bernie Madoff Cronies Arrested, ABC News, November 18, 2010
More Blog Posts:
SEC Files Charges in $27M Washington DC Ponzi Scam, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, November 21, 2011
Former Texan and First Capital Savings and Loan To Pay $4.5M for Alleged Foreign Currency Ponzi Scheme, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, November 11, 2011
SEC Issues Emergency Order to Stop $26M “Green” Ponzi Scam, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, October 13, 2011 Continue Reading ›