Woodbridge to Appoint New Board to Run the Property Developer, Will Pay for Investor Fraud Lawyers Woodbridge Group of Companies and the US Securities and Exchange Commission have come to an agreement that a New Board of Managers will be appointed to oversee the bankrupt property developer. The company, which…
Two Fast Food Restaurant Workers are Accused of Impersonating SEC Employees Frank Gregory Cedeno and Leonel Alexis Valerio Santana, two employees at a Florida restaurant, are accused of pretending to be SEC employees who tried to get at least 95 investors to give pay them $1.3M. The men are charged…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI) to pay $11.5M in restitution and fines to resolve charges accusing the firm of displaying “inaccurate research ratings” on over 1800 stocks—that’s more than 38% of the stock that CGMI covers. According to the self-regulatory organization, the result…
Ex-Wells Fargo Brokers Barred Over Unsuitable Energy Securities Sales The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred brokers Charles Lynch and Charles Frieda for making unsuitable recommendations to investors, resulting in substantial financial losses to the latter. Lynch and Frieda are former Wells Fargo (WFC) representatives who were based in Southern…
The SEC has filed civil charges against Westport Capital Markets LLC and principal Christopher E. McClure. The Connecticut-based, dually registered brokerage firm and investment adviser and its principal are accused of defrauding clients, costing them over $1M in losses. According to the regulator’s securities fraud complaint, the investment advisory firm…
Already under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for financial fraud, the Woodbridge Group of Companies has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to InvestmentNews, this move comes a week after the luxury real estate developer missed payments due to investors on the notes they had purchased.…
DOJ Begins Distributing Payments to Bernie Madoff’s Victims Nearly nine years after Bernie Madoff was arrested for running a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scam, the US Department Justice has begun to pay out distributions owed to his victims. The money comes from the Madoff Victim Fund, a $4B fund set up…
Regulator Orders Alleged Ponzi Scammers to Pay $15.7M Plus Interest In its final judgement against ex-pro football player William D. Allen, Susan Daub, and three entities, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is ordering the defendants to pay over $15.7M in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains in addition to prejudgment interest…
Texas Investment Adviser Suspend for Violating Earlier Securities Agreement The Texas State Securities Board has suspended investment adviser John Michael McDonough for 90 days after he violated a past agreement that limited his business activities and required 212 Advisory Group to enhance its supervision of him. The undertaking agreement was…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against Singer Financial Corp. and its owner Paul Singer accusing them of illegally offering unregistered securities. The regulator’s complaint contends that they raised about $3.4M from at least 70 investors via unsecured promissory notes that were not registered while failing…