HSBC will pay a $765M penalty over claims involving its packaging, marketing, and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities prior to the 2008 economic crisis. According to the US Attorney Bob Troyer, from the beginning HSBC employed a due diligence process that it knew was ineffective, “chose” to place faulty mortgages…
Articles Posted in Current Investigations
Another Ex-Morgan Stanley Broker is Barred by FINRA
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred another former Morgan Stanley (MS) broker. John Halsey Buck III consented to the industry bar after he did not provide the information and documents that the self-regulatory organization asked for related to its probe into his alleged involvement in unapproved private securities sales.…
FINRA Bars Former Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Brokers
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced this week that it is barring three former brokers. They are ex-Morgan Stanley broker (MS) Kevin Smith and former Wells Fargo (WFC) brokers Wilfred Rodriquez Jr. and Thomas A. Davis. According to the self-regulatory authority’s order, the bar against Smith comes after he wouldn’t…
Investors Suing UBS Puerto Rico Over Closed-End Fund Losses Are Denied Class Action Certification
U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein is refusing to grant class action certification to a group of investors suing UBS Puerto Rico over its sale of proprietary closed-end mutual funds. In particular, the class action complaint dealt with a series of 23 closed-end bond funds that UBS Puerto Rico developed…
FINRA Bars Former JP Morgan, Stifel Nicolaus, and Benjamin & Jerold Brokers
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred three former brokers who failed to take part in the self-regulatory authority’s probe into allegations of wrongdoing. Stephen T. Hurtak, formerly of Stifel Nicolaus & Co., was a broker for 39 years. According to FINRA, Hurtak refused to take part in the…
Investigations Involving William A. Hightower of UBS Financial Services and Legacy Asset Securities Inc.
SHEPHERD SMITH EDWARDS & KANTAS LLP INVESTIGATING CLAIMS INVOLVING William A. HIGHTOWER, UBS FINANCIAL SERVICES INC. and Legacy Asset Securities, INC. Baytown, Texas – September 6, 2018 Lawyers with the Securities Law Firm of SHEPHERD SMITH EDWARDS & KANTAS LLP, www.sseklaw.com, are investigating claims involving William A. Hightower, UBS Financial…
Dallas, Texas-Based Wells Fargo Broker Expelled by FINRA
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred J. Gordon Cloutier, Jr. (Cloutier), a former Wells-Fargo (WFC) broker based in the Dallas area of Frisco, Texas, after he allegedly tried to make an unauthorized trade and requested a loan from a client. Cloutier, who had worked at the firm for…
Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP Investigating Claims Involving Donna Tucker and UBS Financial Services
Roanoke, VA – August 1, 2014 Lawyers with the Securities Law Firm of SHEPHERD SMITH EDWARDS & KANTAS LLP, www.sseklaw.com, are investigating claims involving Donna Tucker and UBS Financial Services, Inc. Donna Tucker worked as a broker with A.G. Edwards for four years until she joined UBS Financial Services in…
Oppenheimer Found Liable for Representative Mark Hotton’s Fraud
Recently, Oppenheimer was found liable for the conduct of one of its former brokers named Mark Hotton. Hotton joined Oppenheimer in November 2005, and proceeded to fleece a number of his clients, according to financial regulators. FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, has filed a disciplinary action against Hotton which…
Oppenheimer Continues to Show Serious Supervisory Deficiencies
Date: August 7, 2013 The attorneys at Shepherd, Smith, Edwards & Kantas LLP are investigating claims by investors with Oppenheimer & Co. Although the firm’s investigations are usually target more specifically at particular conduct of a firm or broker, Oppenheimer & Co.’s supervisory system has been found so woefully inadequate by…