Two Investment Advisers Accused of $20M Investor Scam The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against investment advisors Ronald A. Fossum and Alonzo Cahoon. They are accused defrauding retail investors in an unregistered securities scam. According to the regulator, from about 3/2011 to 6/2016, Fossum raised over…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed financial fraud charges against the Woodbridge Group of Companies, LLC and its owner Robert H. Shapiro. The Woodbridge Group is comprised of unregistered investment companies. According to the regulator, Woodbridge and Shapiro ran a $1.2B Ponzi Scam that bilked over 8,400 investors,…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has placed a temporary halt on trading in The Crypto Company (CRCQ) stock until January 3, 2018. The company’s stock has just seen a 2,700 percent rise in price. It recently agreed to purchase a German cryptocurrency data platform called Coin Tracking E. K.…
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…
James C. Tao, an ex-financial adviser, has settled civil charges accusing him of bilking investors in a private equity fund. It was the US Securities and Exchange Commission that brought the Texas investment fraud charges against him. Among the allegations was that Tao misappropriated investor money and made material misstatements…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against two brokers for allegedly carrying out broker fraud in the form of unsuitable trades that made them money while costing investors. According to the regulator’s complaint, Zachary Berkey and Daniel Fischer engaged in in-and-out trading—a strategy that was “almost…
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.…
The US Securities and Exchange Commision has awarded $16M to two whistleblowers—$8M each—for the crucial information and help they provided in bringing a successful securities enforcement action. If you consider that a whistleblower may be eligible for 10-30% of funds collected when the monetary sanctions of the SEC action that…
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…
SEC Files Fraud Charges Against Oyster Bay, NY The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed municipal securities fraud charges against the New York City of Oyster Bay along with John Venditto, who was a former supervisor of the town. According to the regulator, the Long Island Town and Venditto…