Ex-Deloitte LLP Chief Risk Officer Charged With Auditor Independence Rule Violations The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is charging certified public accountant James T. Adams, an ex-chief risk officer, with violating auditor independence rules. The rules are there to make sure audit firms stay objective about their clients. According to…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against American Pension Services Inc., a third-party administrator of retirement plans based in Utah and its founder Curtis L. DeYoung. The regulator says that they caused clients to lose about $22 million in risky investments involving certain business ventures. American Pension Services…
The New York Stock Exchange and other entities have agreed to collectively pay $4.5 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations over regulatory and compliance violations. This includes the claim that there was a failure to abide by the duties of self-regulatory organizations to make sure their businesses follow…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a financial fraud case against Total Wealth Management Inc., an investment advisory firm based in Southern California. The regulator is accusing the firm of getting undisclosed kickbacks over investments recommended to clients. It is also alleging breach of fiduciary duty. According to the…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges against TelexFree Inc. and TelexFree LLC over an alleged Pyramid scam that targeted immigrants-those from Brazil and the Dominican Republic, in particular. The agency sought and was able to obtain an asset freeze, securing millions of dollars. Also facing charges…
According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, over half of the approximately private-equity firms that it examined have charged unjustified expenses and fees to investors without their knowledge. The regulator’s findings are from its review of the $3.5 trillion industry. It was the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act that gave the…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed securities fraud charges against the promoter behind affiliated microcap stock promotion websites. The regulator us accusing John Babikian of using PennyStocksUniverse.com and AwesomePennyStocks.com to engage in “scalping” which is a type of securities fraud. The SEC has also obtained an emergency asset freeze.…
Broker-dealer and investment bank Jefferies LLC (JEF) has consented to pay $25 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it did not properly supervise traders at its mortgage-backed securities desk. These same staffers purportedly lied to investors about pricing. The regulator contends that Jefferies did not give its…
Bloomberg is reporting that according to a new study, US Securities and Exchange Commissioner employees who own stock in companies that the agency is investigating are more likely than other investors to sell their shares in the months prior to the regulator’s announcement of an enforcement action. Shivaram Rajgopal, an…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has put out an emergency action against Frank “Perk” Hixon Jr., an investment banker based in New York. Hixon Jr. is charged with insider trading that garnered him $950,000 in illicit profits that he purportedly used in lieu of making child support payments to the…