Securities Headlines: UBS to Pay $4.5M Over Unregistered Assistants, $6M Ponzi Scam Allegedly Funded Reality Show, & Cherry Picking Allegations Lead to SEC Charges

UBS Settles Unregistered Assistant Allegations for $4.5M
UBS AG (UBS) has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle state regulator allegations that its assistants may not have been licensed in the states where they conducted business. The New Jersey Bureau of Securities, which led the securities case, contends that for about six years, the financial had “client service associations” that lacked the necessary state registrations take orders.

An unknown amount of unsolicited trades were reportedly involved in these transactions between 2004 through 2010 when UBS had about 2,277 sales assistants on staff. The fine will be divided between the 50 States, DC, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. By settling, the Zurich-based bank is not denying or admitting to the allegations. However, in late 2010 it modified its order-entry system so that employee state-registration statuses could be validated.

SEC Sues Over Alleged $6M Ponzi Scam that Invested in Bounty Hunter Enterprises
The Securities and Exchange Commission says that it now as an emergency court order freezing the assets of Guaranty Reserves Trust LLC and its owner John Marcum. The Indiana man is accused of defrauding over three dozen individuals by purportedly getting them to invest in promissory notes. He also is accused of promising them double-digit yearly returns with no risk to principal and told them that he would be day trading.

The regulator says that Marcum got investors to give them their retirement by presenting himself as a trader who was able to garner high returns without loss and he even provided them with account statements exhibiting yearly returns of over 20%. In truth, contends the SEC. Marcum lost over $900K on any trading he did do, while the rest of the funds paid for his lavish lifestyle or was used to invest in ventures, including a bridal shop, a bounty hunter-owned restaurant, and a reality TV show about bounty hunters.

California Investment Adviser Sued by SEC for Alleged Cherry Picking
Ian O. Mausner and his firm J.S. Oliver Capital Management are now facing SEC charges accusing them of taking part in a cherry picking scam that directed winning trades toward certain clients, such as hedge funds in which the investment adviser and his family had investments. According to the Commission, Mausner and his company also misappropriated over $1.1M in soft dollars, which are rebates or credits that clients pay for trades in their accounts.

As a result, says the regulator, investors lost about $10.7 million from the financial scam, which would have occurred from 6/08 through 11/09, with the misappropriation of soft dollars taking place after this period through 11/11. The SEC says the soft dollars were used to pay money that was owed to Masuner’s wife, business “rent” for space used in his home, “outside research” services that were actually payments made to a JS Oliver employee, and maintenance on a personal timeshare in NY. The SEC investigation into the allegations is ongoing.

Our securities lawyers represent investors that have been bilked by brokers, investment advisers, broker-dealers, hedge fund managers, and other industry professionals.

SEC says Indiana man used Ponzi scheme to fund a reality TV show, Chicago Tribune, August 26, 2013
SEC Charges San Diego-Based Investment Adviser in Cherry-Picking and Soft Dollar Schemes, SEC, August 30, 2013

UBS to pay hefty settlement over unregistered assistants, Investment News, August 26, 2013

More Blog Posts:
Lloyds, Barclays, to Set Aside Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Allegedly Mis-Selling to Victims, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, August 27, 2013
Texas Money Manager Sued by SEC and CFTC Over Alleged Forex Trading Scam, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, August 6, 2013
JPMorgan Found Liable in Billionaire’s Subprime Mortgage Lawsuit for Over $50M in Damages, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, August 28, 2013