A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel says Wedbush Securities Incorporated must pay Karen E. Ray $233,000 in damages. Ray had accused the brokerage firm of numerous causes of action, including negligence, purposely negligent misrepresentations, and violating FINRA Rules of Fair Practices. Rays case isn’t the first one against…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has affirmed broker Scott Schlueter’s 48-month prison sentence even though it exceeds sentencing guidelines. Schlueter is accused of conducting an investment scam that resulted in over $300,000 in financial losses for investors, who also happened to be friends of his. Schlueter…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a securities fraud complaint accusing Juno Mother Earth Asset Management LLC and its founders Arturo Rodriguez and Eugenio Verzilli of looting over $1.8 million in assets from a hedge fund. The two hedge fund managers allegedly used the assets to cover Juno’s…
At a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fixed income conference earlier this month, FINRA CEO and Chairman Rick Ketchum says securities regulators are questioning whether investors looking at risky investment, including high-yield corporate bonds, fully understand what they are getting into when they delve into the high-yield market. Last year, approximately…
Last month, our stockbroker fraud lawyers reported on a Securities and Exchange Commission order to freeze the assets of Michael Kenwood Capital Management, LLC and its principal Francisco Illarramendi for their alleged misappropriation of $53 million in investor funds. This month, Illarramendi pleaded guilty to securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy…
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that Morgan Keegan & Co, Inc. must pay over $250,000 in punitive and compensatory damages to Jeffrey and Marisel Lieberman. The couple suffered financial losses after investing in Greenwich Sentry LLP, a hedge fund whose assets were funneled to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. FINRA…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed and settled securities charges against DHB Industries Inc. without the US defense contractor receiving any penalty. The maker of bulletproof vests for US law enforcement and military agencies, now called Point Blank Solutions, has consented to not committing the alleged violations in the…
In its latest 10-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says that its “reasonably possible” losses from legal claims may be as high as $3.4 billion. The investment bank’s admission comes after the SEC told corporate finance chiefs that the should disclose losses “when…
The SEC has obtained an order to freeze the assets of investment adviser Michael Kenwood Capital Management LLC and firm principal Francisco Illarramendi, who is accused of taking at least $53M from a hedge fund and fraudulently transferring investor money from several funds to bank accounts he controlled. Illarramendi then…
Gregg M. Berger, an ex-Gilford Securities broker, has been indicted for conspiracy over his alleged involvement in a global pump and dump stock fraud scheme involving thinly traded Israeli and Chinese securities. He is charged with wire fraud and securities fraud. The SEC has also filed related civil securities fraud…