It will be up to 11 jurors to determine if Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) is guilty of grossly mismanaging a securities lending program and lying about the degree of risk involved or whether the economic crisis was actually at fault. The program was marketed to institutional clients, including pension…
LPL Securities has hired the Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement’s ex-acting deputy director David Bergers as LPL Financial Holdings Inc.’s (LPLA) general counsel and managing director for government and legal relations. Following news of the appointment, LPL CEO and Chairman Mark Casady was quick to point out that…
Citigroup (C) Settle $3.5B securities lawsuit Over MBS Sold to Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae Citigroup has settled the $3.5 billion mortgage-backed securities filed with the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The MBS were sold to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and both sustained resulting losses. This is the second of 18…
Flatiron Systems LLC Owner Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud In United States v. Howard, investment company owner David Eugene Howard has pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges. He is accused of engaging in a financial scam that obtained about $1.8 million from investors. Prosecutors say that Howard, who owns Flatiron…
American International Group (AIG) and Maiden Lane II dismissing lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Bank of New York regarding the $182.3 billion financial bailout that the insurer received during the 2008 economic crisis. In dispute was whether AIG still had the right to pursue a lawsuit over residential mortgage-backed securities…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. says that Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (MER) and Wells Fargo Advisors LLC must pay $5.1 million for losses sustained by customers who bought floating-rate bank loan funds. According to the SRO, brokers at Banc of America and Merrill recommended the purchase…
Morgan Stanley (MS) has a new trade tool to help brokers better understand who is buying and selling what financial products. Trade Flow Insights was recently rolled out to over 16,000 financial advisers. The tool provides information on leading sales and purchases that have been executed, in addition to asset…
Blake Richards, a former LPL Financial LLC adviser, is now facing Securities and Exchange Commission charges for allegedly defrauding investors and misappropriating about $2 million from at least seven customers. Most of the funds that were misappropriated were life insurance proceeds from dead spouses and retirement funds. Last week, the…
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Panel is ordering Goldman Sachs & Co. (GS) to pay about $2.5M to Tracy Landow for recommending that she invest in the Goldman Sachs Special Opportunities Fund 2006, which she is now contending was an investment that was not appropriate for her. Landow filed her…
Investment News is reporting that in the wake of pressure from regulators, Berthel Fisher & Co. Financial Services Inc., Cetera Financial Group Inc. and VSR Financial Services Inc., are modifying the way they sell specific alternative investments, including nontraded real estate investment trusts, by revising current policy or including no…