Posts belonging to Category Investigations
Posted by Page PerryonSeptember 14, 2012
Ray Lucia, the host of a nationally syndicated daily radio program and Los Angeles financial adviser, has been sued by the SEC. In a complaint commencing an administrative proceeding, the SEC alleged that Mr. Lucia misled investors about his “Buckets of Money” investment strategy for retirement savings. According to the SEC, Mr. Lucia falsely told […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonSeptember 13, 2012
Corporations that retaliate against whistleblowers are learning tough lessons. The Ethics Resource Center recently released an analysis of corporate whistleblowers and retaliation against them. The analysis had a disturbing finding ? complaints of retaliation against whistleblowers are rising. The chief complaints involve denied promotions and raises, and transfers to unpleasant assignments. On the other hand, […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Financial Industry Whistleblowers, Investigations, Investment Advisers, SEC Whistleblowers
Posted by Page PerryonSeptember 12, 2012
State regulators continue to see an increase in supervisory failures at broker-dealers, according to a review of 236 exams conducted in the first half of this year. In addition to failure to follow written supervisory policies, the top 5 violations involve unsuitability of investments, misleading and/or unmonitored correspondence and e-mail sent to customers, failure to […]
Categories: A General Overview, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Supervisory Failures
Posted by Page PerryonSeptember 12, 2012
The IRS has awarded $104 million to former UBS AG banker Bradley Birkenfeld for providing it with inside information about UBS’s illegal encouragement of secret offshore accounts by U.S. taxpayers. The IRS issued a statement confirming the award because Mr. Birkenfeld signed a disclosure waiver. It is the largest IRS whistleblower award ever, according to […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Financial Industry Whistleblowers, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Regulatory Developments, SEC Whistleblowers, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, UBS
Posted by Page PerryonSeptember 11, 2012
Three former brokers at Atlanta-based securities brokerage firm JP Turner excessively traded (“churned”) customer accounts in order to produce $845,000 in commissions and fees for themselves and the firm, leaving those customers with $2.7 million in losses, according to the SEC.
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Churning, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, J P Turner, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonSeptember 11, 2012
The SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have filed an emergency enforcement action against Illinois hedge fund manager Nikolai Battoo for allegedly overvaluing the assets under his management and concealing large losses from investors during the 2008 financial crisis.
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Hedge Funds, Investigations, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonSeptember 10, 2012
The SEC has charged Atlanta-based securities brokerage firm JP Turner & Company, as well as its executive vice-president and head of supervision, Michael Bresner, and its president William Mello, with compliance violations and failure to supervise. JP Turner and Mello have reportedly agreed to settle with the SEC, but administrative proceedings remain pending against three […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Churning, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, J P Turner, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonSeptember 7, 2012
Investors who are putting money into Royalty Trusts are making a big mistake and the brokers that sell them should be ashamed of themselves. According to Jason Zweig, a noted columnist with the Wall Street Journal (“Will These Royal Yields Rule?” WSJ), these trusts own nothing except income from oil wells and the right to […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Asset Backed Securities, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Private Investments/Reg D, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonAugust 31, 2012
The SEC has found that most investors understand very little about the financial products they buy. In the wake of the financial crisis, Congress, suspecting that the financial illiteracy of ordinary investors played a role in the crisis, commissioned a study by the SEC as part of the Dodd-Frank mandate. The SEC has completed its […]
Categories: A General Overview, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Stockbroker Standards of Conduct, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonAugust 29, 2012
InvestmentNews, a publication geared to financial advisers, recently published a list showing how eight of the largest nontraded real estate investment trusts (REITs), which have raised over $30 billion from investors, have lost over $11 billion in value (“Decline in equity value of major nontraded REITs”).
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Nontraded REITs, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations
