2020 FINRA Priorities Letter
Each year, FINRA publishes its Annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter to highlight issues of importance to FINRA’s...
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2019 FINRA Priorities Letter Released
Each year, FINRA publishes its Annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter to highlight issues of importance to FINRA's...
Putting a Lid on Ponzi Schemes
Since 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought more than 100 enforcement actions against nearly 200 individuals...
SEC’s Examination Priorities for 2014
Many of the items found on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s annual list of examination priorities for the new year echo...
FINRA Releases 2014 Regulatory and Exam Priorities
Non-traded REITs, elder fraud, complex structured products, private placements and other alternative investments will be among...
One-Time Major REIT Player Leo Wells Closes His Broker/Dealer
Following abysmal deals involving non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) and fraudulent private placement offerings...
Serving as a ‘Fiduciary’ for an Older Adult
(On Jan. 23, from 1-2 p.m. EST, Mark Maddox of Maddox Hargett & Caruso P.C. will be a featured guest on NPR/WFYI's No Limits...
FINRA Says National Planning Corp. Liable for $6.2M Arbitration Award
A top independent broker/dealer has been ordered to pay a $6.2 million arbitration award to two Minnesota investors in a claim...
UBS, Puerto Rico Bonds & Elderly Investors
The question on many investors’ minds these days is why advisers with UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico recommended municipal...
Euro Pacific Capital: Trouble Ahead?
Peter David Schiff is a respected author and frequent financial commentator. He’s also the founder and CEO of Euro Pacific Capital,...
Five Years Later, Little Progress Has Been Made
In the latest issue of the Indianapolis Business Journal, I’ve written an article on how the financial services industry...
Puerto Rico Debt Has Been a Big Payday for Wall Street
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reports on the financial woes facing Puerto Rico over its troubled bond deals...
Trouble Brewing From Puerto Rico for OppenheimerFunds Bond Funds?
Big bets on Puerto Rican debt has sent the value of the Oppenheimer Rochester Virginia Municipal Bond Fund (ORVAX) reeling. As...
Investigation into UBS Puerto Rico Closed-End Funds
Maddox, Hargett & Caruso P.C. currently is investigating potential claims on behalf of investors against UBS Puerto Rico for...
UBS Gears Up for Legal Bout Over Plummeting Puerto Rico Bond Funds
A group of proprietary closed-end bond funds created by UBS and which were heavily invested in Puerto Rico municipal debt is plummeting...
Morgan Stanley Agrees to Pay $100,000 in ETF Settlement
Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC has agreed to pay $100,000 to the New Jersey Bureau...
Tricks of the Trade: Outsmarting Investment Fraudsters
Investment fraud is big business - and senior investors are unfortunately prime targets. Scammers often single out seniors for...
Technical Glitch Shuts Down NASDAQ
Trading at the NASDAQ stock exchange came to a screeching halt on Thursday afternoon, following what is being called a "technical...
Alternative Investments on Regulators’ Radar
Complex investments like non-traded REITs, structured notes and private placements are increasingly capturing the attention of...
FINRA Amps Up Inspection of Arbitrators
An Aug. 8 article by Reuters reports that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) may be stepping up efforts...
Burned by Bad Brokers
An Illinois investor named Sergio Alvarado was recently awarded nearly $750,000 in damages following a dispute with his brokerage...
Oxford Financial Loses Big to Reid Hospital
Timing is critical - something Reid Hospital & Health Care Services knows first hand. In 2011, the Richmond, Indiana, hospital...
Sales of Complex Investments to Elderly Lead to Inquiry
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has subpoenaed 15 brokerage firms as part of a new investigation...
Former Baseball Player Says Broker Cost Him $5M After Investing in Failed Private Placements
Five-time Major League baseball player Mike Sweeney is suing UBS Financial Services and his former broker, Ralph A. Jackson III,...
LPL Has Regulators’ Attention
LPL Financial has more than 13,000 brokers, 6,500 offices and some 4.3 million customers. It’s also got a lengthy list of issues...
‘Alt’ Funds: What Investors Need to Know
Alternative, or “alt funds,” are not your typical mutual fund. As reported June 11 by USA Today, the past three years...
An Investment Blast From the Past: Synthetic CDOs
Synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). They’re those risky, complex financial products that many blame for causing...
Investigating Bad Brokers: Ronald Nichter
Maddox Hargett & Caruso, P.C. regularly reviews the Broker Check Web site of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)...
Non-Traded REIT Sales Land Five BDs in Hot Water
Five independent broker/dealers will pay $8.6 million in restitution to investors, as well as fines of $975,000, as part of settlements...
VSR Fined Over Alternative Investments
Alternative investments continue to garner the wrath of regulators and more trouble for broker/dealers. Last week, the Financial...
Education Is Key to Preventing Elder Fraud
Elder investment fraud is big business. Every year, fraudsters scam older Americans out of billions of dollars. What makes the...
Foiling the Reforms of Dodd-Frank
Three years ago, on July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or, as it's...
Some Bond Funds Not What They Appear
The number of bond funds that own stocks has increased dramatically - and could be yet another sign of investors’ willingness...
Wells Fargo to Pay $105M in Medical Capital Fraud Case
Medical Capital Holdings investors who lost millions of dollars in a failed private-placement deal that turned out to be a Ponzi...
Lawmakers to SEC: End Mandatory Arbitration Agreements
A number of lawmakers want an end to mandatory arbitration clauses in brokerage contracts and are calling on the Securities and...
Investors Should Proceed With Caution in Investments That Promise ‘Bond-like’ Features
As investors grow increasingly leery of bonds and the potential increase in interest rates, many are turning to alternative investment...
FINRA Panel Orders MML Investors Services to Pay $1.1 Million to Investor
A Los Angeles Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel has ordered MML Investors Services, LLC - which is part...
‘Senior Designations’: Don’t Take Credentials of Financial Advisers at Face Value
When it comes to investing your money, it’s hard to know whom to trust. That’s especially true for older Americans. A new...
DBSI Top Execs Indicted
Four top DBSI executives - Douglas Swenson, Mark Ellison and two sons of Swenson, David and Jeremy - were indicted this week by...
The Willow Fund: Hard Lessons on Pitfalls of Credit Default Swaps
A year ago, investors in a UBS sponsored closed-end fund called the Willow Fund learned that the fund - which had assets of nearly...
LPL Financial Contends With Ongoing Regulatory Battles
LPL Financial may be rapidly expanding its business model, but it no doubt could do without some of the attention it is receiving...
Inland American Real Estate Trust Faces Shareholder Backlash
Broker to NFL Players Barred From Securities Industry
Broker Jeffrey Rubin has been barred from the securities industry after leading 31 NFL players to invest in a controversial Alabama...
Bond Buyers: Proceed With Caution
The economy may be improving, but there’s a new fear on the horizon for many investors: A bond market crash. As reported March...
Variable Annuities on FINRA 2013 Product ‘Watch List’
In 2012, 220 variable annuity claims were filed by investors with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) - an 8%...
Is Your Adviser Mishandling Your Assets?
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is warning investors that it has found “significant deficiencies” in the way...
Bank of NY Mellon to Pay $114M in Medical Capital Settlement
Medical Capital Holdings, the company...
Preventing Elder Investment Fraud
Every day, crimes involving elder investment...
Alternative Investments, Elder Fraud Among SEC’s 2013 Examination Priorities
Fraudulent sales practices of broker/dealers, alternative investments, elder financial abuse, private placements, unsuitable recommendations...
Online Brokerage Accounts: What Investors Can Do to Safeguard Their Money, Personal Information
Let's hope this never happens to you: You have a few free minutes so you decide to go online to check your brokerage account information....
Chasing the Yield in Alternative Investments Can Prove Risky
In recent years, retail investors have been pouring money into alternative investments by the droves. From 2008 to 2009, that...
ASTA/MAT Debacle Reappears With Treasury Secretary Nominee Jack Lew in ABC’s Nightline Expose
Citigroup and a group of failed fixed-income alternative funds known as ASTA/MAT are back in the news courtesy of Jack Lew, President...
Financial Fraud Against Seniors Is Growing
Crimes involving elderly victims...
Apple, Equity-Linked Structured Products and Bondholders
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal underscores the often unforeseen impact of equity-linked structured products...
SEC to Focus on Four Key Hedge Fund Issues in 2013
The “retailization” of hedge funds has made it easier for unsophisticated investors to invest directly in the products and,...
Structured Notes: The Devil Is In The Details
It sounds like an investor’s dream investment: You get 150% of the upside of the stock market but only 90% of the downside....
Ameriprise Financial Clients Suffer Losses Over REIT Investments
Maddox Hargett & Caruso, P.C. is investigating claims on behalf of investors who contend they were misguided by Ameriprise...
Notice to LPL Financial, LLC Customers: Maddox Hargett & Caruso, P.C. Launches Investigation Into Non-Traded REIT Recommendations of LPLA (NASDAQ: LPLA).
Maddox Hargett & Caruso, P.C. announces the initiation of an investigation into the sales practices of LPL Financial, LLC...
LPL Financial Faces Charges Over REIT Sales Abuses
Sales abuses tied to non-traded real estate investment trusts, or REITs, have become increasingly front and center for the...
2012: A Year in Review, Part 2
Exchange-traded notes. 1861 Capital Management Funds. Rochester Municipal Bond Fund. LPL Financial. Morgan Keegan. Tim Durham....
Maddox Hargett & Caruso, P.C Investigates Investors’ Non-Traded REIT Losses
Maddox Hargett & Caruso, P.C. is continuing its investigation into the sales practices of broker/dealers that recommended...
Mass. Charges Against LPL Financial Over Non-Traded REITs Could Help Investors
LPL Financial LLC, the largest independent U.S.broker/dealer by revenue, has been accused by Massachusetts securities watchdog...
Lessons Learned: Confessions of an Investment Scammer
Investment scams are a booming business, and no one is more vulnerable than the elderly. In 2011, elder financial abuse resulted...
Potential Pitfalls of ‘Crowdfunding’ for Main Street Investors
The murky world of crowdfunding is creating growing concerns among securities regulators and investor advocates for its apparent...
Cincinnati Man Gets 40 Years in Securities Fraud Scam
A Cincinnati man who conned Indiana investors out of more than $3 million has received a 40-year prison sentence for his role in...
Whistleblower Program Netting Tips and More
For more than a year, whistleblowers throughout United States and the world have been coming forth with inside information regarding...
Brokers as Portfolio Managers: What Investors Should Know
An Oct. 14 article by Investment News highlights a growing trend in the investment world: Brokers who do double duty...
Morgan Stanley Wants to Stop Investor’s Facebook Claim
As reported Nov. 6 by Reuters, Morgan Stanley is trying to stop a securities arbitration case filed by a Facebook investor...
Fear of Defaults Changes Investors’ Views on Municipal Bonds
For some time now, municipal bonds have been synonymous with conservative, safe investments. But that presumption may be changing...
Change in FINRA Arbitration to Include RIAs
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is opening up its arbitration system to include registered investment advisers...
Raymond Lucia and Non-Traded REITs
Nationally syndicated California radio talk-show host Raymond J. Lucia Sr. is garnering more than potential listeners these days;...
SEC Says Broker/Dealer Advanced Equities, Founders Misled Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Advanced Equities Inc. and its founders - Dwight Badger and Keith Daubenspeck...
Behringer Harvard REIT I Facing Investor Lawsuit
One of the industry’s largest non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) - Behringer...
FINRA Panel: Citi to Pay Nearly $1.5M Over Rochester Municipal Fund
An arbitration panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ruled that Citigroup Global Markets Inc. must...
Securities Regulators Open New Investigations into Citigroup’s ASTA/MAT Municipal Arbitrage Funds and Other Purported Fixed Income-Related Products
As reported by Bloomberg on Friday, August 3, 2012, in footnote 22 to the financial statements for its Form 10-Q for the second...
Study: The Impact of Financial Fraud on the Elderly
Older Americans are perhaps the most vulnerable targets of investment fraud, losing more than $3 billion every year to various...
Churning Lands Firm, Broker in Hot Water
An arbitration panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has awarded an investor $1.9 million in a case involving...
TICs & Investor Losses
Investments in Tenant-in-Common (TIC) 1031 Exchanges have turned sour for more investors, many of whom are retirees who purchased...
Post-Madoff, Financial Fraud Grows
Bernie Madoff and his $65 billion fraud may have made modern-day Ponzi schemes front-page news, but it did little to eradicate...
Elder Financial Fraud: Part III
Financial fraud is the fastest-growing form of elder abuse - and one that aging experts and regulators alike predict will become...
Elder Financial Fraud: Part II
Research shows that the ability to make sound financial decisions lessens with age, as dementia and other types of mental impairment...
Elder Financial Fraud: Part I
Elder financial fraud does not discriminate. It targets potential victims anywhere in the U.S., in metropolitan cities and small...
JP Morgan’s $2B Blunder Subject of Probe
JPMorgan Chase & Co. $2 billion trading loss is now reportedly the subject of a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice...
Non-Traded REIT Values Prove Unsettling for Investors
Investors who own shares in some non-traded real estate investment...
Non-Traded REITs Can Yield Unpleasant Surprise
Non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) have become a controversial investment - and apparently growing more so by the...
Recent Problems with Non-Traded REITs
Many non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) have become...
Financial fraud & elderly parents
Financial fraud against the elderly is growing, and it’s a new reality for many baby boomers and their aging parents. A new...
Lehman Bankruptcy Follows JP Morgan
Regulators are taking JPMorgan...
The JOBS Act: What It Means for Investors
A new piece of legislation called Jumpstart Our Business Startups, or JOBS Act, may have good intentions but could wind up harming...
Two Exchange-Traded Notes Become Unhinged
Exchange-traded notes (ETNs) are a new source of concern for investors, following the recent plunge of two ETNs. Barclays iPath...
Financial Fraud Can Happen to Anyone
The recent news of Indianapolis Colts football player Dwight...
Client Pays Price When Advisor Fails to Execute Trades
When a financial advisor with Oxford Financial failed to execute a sale involving securities investments worth millions of dollars...
Divorce & Annuities: A Potentially Costly Break-Up
Divorces usually come at a cost - and a potentially bigger one if a variable annuity is involved. Variable...
Congress Looks to Overhaul the SIPC
The recent fraud conviction of R. Allen Stanford comes amid a congressional hearing pitting the Securities and Exchange Commission...
SEC Calls on Firms to Ramp Up Scrutiny of Unauthorized Trades
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has just issued a risk...
FINRA Goes Head-to-Head With Schwab Over Client Agreements
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) isn’t impressed by Charles Schwab Corp.’s efforts to try and get a federal...
Financial Fraud: Self-Defense Moves to Avoid Becoming a Victim
There’s no shortage of unscrupulous financial brokers who are willing and able to con investors out of their money with so-called...
TIC Deals Come Back to Haunt Some B-Ds
The real estate bust has taken a toll on tenant-in-common investments, and no one knows this better than some of the broker/dealers...
More Oversight Coming to BDCs?
A turbulent economy often sends investors searching for alternative investments that offer promises of significant yield. Sometimes,...
FINRA ‘Watch List’ Targets Certain Financial Products
Besides their higher-than-average risks and inherent complexity, non-traded...
‘Warehoused’ Loans Can Create Wins for Banks, Losses for Investors
A new study from Securities Litigation and Consulting Group (SLCG) investigates the subject of “warehousing” loans and the...
Elder Americans & Financial Fraud
Financial fraud - including investment, Internet and credit card scams - is on the rise, and the targeted victims are increasingly...
Capital Financial Buys Back Shares Sold to Pawn Shop
Broker/dealer Capital Financial Holdings has come up with a novel idea to stay financially afloat: go to a network of pawn shops...
Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT I: Value Sinks
Like a number of non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), Behringer...
Lawsuit Says NRP Financial Ignored Fraud Scheme
Minneapolis attorney R.J. Zayed, who also is the appointed receiver responsible for helping victims recover assets lost in a $194...
Five Tips for Investors in 2012
Out with the old and in with the new. For many investors, 2011 was a year of lessons learned as a number of financial products...
Securities Fraud: 2011 in Review
Some familiar and some not-so-familiar names, topics and trends became prime fodder for securities-related fraud in 2011. Among...
Non-Traded REITs: Pass Go, Proceed With Caution
The myth that non-traded REITs are safe investment vehicles is just that - a myth. In reality, non-traded REITs are high-risk,...
Seniors & Financial Fraud
Investors of any age can become a victim of financial fraud at the hands of unscrupulous investment advisers or scam artists,...
5 Common Investment Scams
A combination of a volatile stock market and plunging home sales is a fraud scammer’s paradise, creating a prime opportunity...
Pacific West to Close Doors
Another broker/dealer is closing up shop. Pacific West Securities will make its exit 2012, joining some 20 other broker/dealers...
FINRA Sanctions More B-Ds That Sold Private Placements in Medical Capital, Provident Royalties
Soured deals involving private placements in Medical Capital Holdings, Provident Royalties and DBSI, Inc., have come back to haunt...
Wells REIT Fine Stirs Controversy Over Non-Traded REITs
A recent $300,000 fine against the Wells REIT is raising red flags among investors and regulators alike regarding the risks of...
MF Global: A Crisis of Confidence
It’s the latest Wall Street “whodunit,” as regulators and the FBI search for $600 million in missing customer cash from...
Wells REIT II: Bad News For Investors
Citigroup: A Repeat Offender and Then Some
Citigroup is no stranger to accusations of fraud. It’s faced such charges five times since 2003 when the Securities and Exchange...
Does the Punishment Fit the Crime?
The Occupy Wall Street movement has shed much-needed light on the fact that big banks have never been held properly accountable...
The So-Called ‘Absolute Return’ of Mutual Funds
An Oct. 23 article by Investment News highlights the potential problems caused by mutual funds that tout the term “absolute...
SEC Levies $285M Fine Against Citigroup Over CDO Deal
Citigroup will pay $285 million as part of a deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle civil fraud charges...
Provident Royalties Sales Claim Another B-D
Private placements in Provident Royalties have caused the demise of yet another broker/dealer. Florida-based Boogie Investment...
Elder Financial Abuse Claims Billions From Victims
Elder financial abuse is a rarely talked epidemic that claims billions of dollars each year from its victims. No one is immune...
Pensions Plundered By Corporate Greed, Says Author
Many Americans have been forced to put their retirement dreams on hold in recent years - their benefits essentially “robbed”...
Elder Financial Abuse: A $2.6 Billion Crime
Elder financial abuse is one crime that just keeps getting bigger. Every year, financial abuse costs older Americans more than...
ETFs and the UBS Trader Scandal
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are again back in the news. This time it’s their connection to the $2 billion in losses that incurred...
The Problem With Non-Traded REITs
Risk, risk, risk…that’s the reason why a growing number of broker/dealers say they are cutting back on sales of non-traded...
UBS CEO Abruptly Resigns
UBS CEO Oswald Gruebel resigned on Saturday over fallout from the $2.3 billion loss that occurred in an alleged trading scandal...
Bank of America’s Structured Note Woes
Bank of America structured note sales have fallen to their lowest level since at least January 2010, following concerns by investors...
Atlas Energy: Another Provident Royalties?
Doomed investments in private placements connected to Provident...
Risky Investments Garner Warnings From FSA
Complex and often risky investments such as private...
Ohio Pension Funds Challenge Fannie, Freddie Loss Rule
The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio are asking a federal judge to throw...
Auction-Rate Securities Update
What is new on the auction-rate securities (ARS) front? Plenty. For one, investors still hoping to win back part of the $330 billion...
Reverse Convertibles Feel Wrath of SEC
Reverse convertible notes are at the center of a sweep examination conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into...
SEC Supports Investors Who Say Merrill Lynch Rigged ARS Market
Auction-rate securities holders may have reason to smile. A new legal brief from the Securities and Exchange...
Apple REITs: A Thorn in Investors’ Side
Apple REITs, sold by David Lerner & Associates, are causing investors to stay awake at night. The non-traded illiquid real-estate...
FINRA Comes Down on Non-Traded REITs, Private Placements
Non-traded real...
Reeling From Legal Troubles, Morgan Keegan to be Sold
Morgan Keegan is up for sale, according to news reports from both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times....
Provident Royalties and Fidelity Investments
Failed deals involving private placements in Provident Royalties are now dogging National Financial Services, a unit of Fidelity...
WFP Securities Closes Shop Over MedCap Private Placements
The list of independent broker/dealers closing up shop over failed private placements in Medical Capital Holdings and Provident...
Rogue Reps Often Retain Insurance Licenses
Neal Smalbach was fired in 2008 by a broker/dealer for selling securities while unregistered. It was the second time that a securities...
Securities America Sued By Wells Fargo, BNY Mellon Over MedCap Private Placements
Securities America and other broker/dealers that sold private placements in Medical Capital Holdings are now facing even more...
Regulator Calls For Tougher Diligence By B-Ds, Private Placements
Failed deals involving private placements in Medical Capital Holdings and Provident Royalties are yielding calls from regulators...
J.P. Turner/Provident Royalties Update
A legal rarity occurred recently concerning investor lawsuits and arbitration claims over private placements in Provident...
Life Partners Holdings Receives Well Notice
Waco, Texas-based Life Partners Holdings, which buys life-insurance policies at a discount and then sells shares to investors,...
Unauthorized Spousal IRA Withdrawals: A Growing Trend?
An Indiana Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel recently ruled against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner...
Securities America Posts $115M Loss
Ongoing legal battles and arbitration claim losses over private placements in Medical...
Capital Financial Faces Cease-and-Desist Order Over Provident, Medical Capital Private Placements
Yet another broker is facing the wrath of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over sales of private placements in Provident...
Structured Investment Products: Buyer Beware
Born out of the financial engineering of Wall Street, structured products are a buzzword in the investment world. Structured investment...
MAT/ASTA Award Creates New Day on Wall Street
A precedent-setting arbitration award against...
Pinnacle Partners, Brian Alfaro Suspended By FINRA
On Dec. 3, 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) filed a complaint against Pinnacle Partners Financial Corp....
Judge’s Approval Sought in Securities America Case Involving Medical Capital, Provident Royalties
The parent company of broker/dealer Securities...
Securities America: Update On Med Cap/Provident Royalties Settlement
Apparently a potential $200 million settlement between Securities...
Private Placements In FINRA Hot Seat
Private placements tied to issuers like Medical Capital Holdings and Provident Royalties have caused a firestorm of lawsuits and...
Securities America: Med Cap Saga a Blow to Parent Ameriprise
Private-placement deals in Medical Capital Holdings...
Reverse-Convertibles Back In News
Reverse-convertible notes are once again making headlines. This time, it’s the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)...
Securities America Update
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has leveled stinging criticism at a federal judge and his decision...
Securities Fraud Cases Increase: Class-Action Settlements On The Rise
Securities fraud lawsuits are growing - in part because of the involvement of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As...
Investors In Securities America Class Action Could Have Long Wait
Proposed class action settlements involving Securities America and private-placement sales of Medical Capital Holdings and Provident...
Considering Private Placements? Think Twice
Independent broker/dealers that sold private placements Medical Capital Holdings and Provident Royalties LLC - both of which were...
Durham Committed ‘Fraud of Shocking Proportions,’ Claims Trustee In Lawsuit
Fair Finance's bankruptcy trustee Brian Bash filed a lawsuit on Feb. 15, accusing disgraced businessman Tim Durham of perpetrating...
JP Morgan & The Bernie Madoff Connection
The trustee in charge of liquidating the business dealings of Bernie Madoff says JPMorgan Chase & Co. had long suspected that...
Regulators Step Up Actions Against Securities Fraudsters
Securities fraudsters take note: State and federal regulators are watching you. Crimes involving securities fraud have skyrocketed...
Fair Finance, Tim Durham Update
It’s been almost a year since a bankruptcy...
SEC Investigates Illinois Over Pension Woes
Illinois’ underfunded pension fund is now facing scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has launched...
Taxpayers Foot Legal Bills For Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
Following the 2008 takeover of mortgage giants Fannie...
FINRA Panel Rules In Claim Involving QA3 and TICs
First it was private-placement sales involving Medical...
Punitive Damages Win In Securities America/Medical Capital Case Big Victory For Claimants
A recent $1.2 million investor award involving Securities...
Peoples State Bank of Ellettsville Takes Issue Over ARS Sales
The Peoples State Bank of Ellettsville says it was misled by Stifel...
FINRA Rules In Favor Investor Over Securities America, Medical Capital Claim
The new year has not been kind to Securities...
‘Fool-Proof’ Investment Lands SEC Charges For William Harrison, Eddie Sawyers
William Harrison and Eddie Sawyers are entering the new year facing securities fraud charges. On Dec. 17, the Securities and Exchange...
Missouri Stockbrokers Make Bad Call With Improper Investment Offers
Stockbrokers in the state of Missouri may want to reconsider who’s on the receiving end of their cold calls. Recently, Missouri...
Ernst & Young Accused Of Hiding Lehman’s Financial Troubles
Accounting giant Ernst & Young has been accused by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of deceiving the public about the...
Muni Rigging Settlement At Bank of America Just the Beginning?
Bank of America’s recent $137 million deal with federal regulators for its alleged role in a nationwide bid-rigging conspiracy...
CDO Probe Heats Up
In recent weeks, Wall Street banks have come under fire from regulators over sales of collateralized...
Goldman Sachs Faces Lawsuit Over Hudson CDOs
First it was Abacus CDOs, and...
Financial Lobbyists Try To Garner Reform Bill Exemptions
Wall Street couldn’t prevent an overhaul of the financial industry, but it’s doing all it can to influence how regulatory...
Private-Placement Guide Zeros In On Due Diligence of Broker/Dealers
Following the Medical Capital Holdings debacle and...
CDO Fraud Allegations Haunt Morgan Stanley
A group of Singapore investors are crying foul at Morgan...
Non-Traded REIT Claims Growing
The number of arbitration claims involving non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) is growing, with investors alleging...
Structured Note Sales Booming, But Do Investors Understand The Risks?
Sales of structured investment products are bigger than ever. The problem is many brokers are selling structured...
All-Public Arbitration Panels May Be New Option For Investors
Investors who file arbitration claims against a broker or investment firm may soon have the option of getting their case heard...
Complaints Growing Over Suitability Of Leveraged, Inverse ETFs
Investor complaints about leveraged...
Law Firm, Two Men Fined Over Lehman-Backed Structured Products
Thorntons Law LLP, which provides investment advice to customers under the brand name, Thorntons Investment Services, and one...
The Hartford Raising Red Flags Over Variable Annuity
New York insurance regulators are joining ranks with Connecticut’s insurance commissioner to determine if The Hartford made...
Structured Notes: A Flawed Investment Product?
Structured notes may soon be the “next investment bubble” on Wall Street, according to some analysts. The products, which...
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: The Saga Continues
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were supposed to make the American Dream of home ownership an affordable reality for millions of hard-working...
Denver Schools: Derivatives Don’t Make The Grade
Denver has a derivative problem - a big one. In 2008, Denver’s public school system sought the assistance of JPMorgan Chase...
Derivatives Put Denver Schools In Peril
When the Denver public school system needed to eliminate a $400 million pension gap, it turned to JP Morgan Chase and the bank’s...
Morgan Stanley, Other Firms Face FINRA Inquiry Over CDO Sales
Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Group and other brokerages are reportedly facing questions from the Financial Industry Regulatory...
Deutsche Bank Securities Hit With $7.5M For Misrepresentation
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has levied a $7.5 million fine against Deutsche Bank Securities for allegedly...
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