What was the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the collapse of the subprime mortgage bubble? Although mortgage brokers, investment banks, and ratings agencies are frequently held responsible for the demise, little is said about the roles of the Financial Industry Regulatory Industry (FINRA) and the SEC-both watchdog…
Banc One Securities Corp. (BOSC) says it will pay $225,000 to settle Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) charges that it made “unsuitable” sales of deferred variable annuities to 23 clients-21 of them elderly customers over 70 years of age. FINRA says that BOSC representatives told clients that they should exchange…
Heartland Advisors Inc. and several of the investment adviser’s employees have agreed to pay $3.9 Million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that they allegedly violated the Federal Securities Act. The SEC case stems from incidents that allegedly took place from March through October 2000, when Heartland “negligently mispriced…
Investors have a hard time understanding the differences between investment advisers and broker-dealers, as well as distinguishing between the different services and protections that each group offer. This finding was reported last month in an SEC-commissioned study conducted by Nonprofit policy group Rand Corp. Rand gathered its findings from data…
Leslie Weiner, a former broker for Liberty Financial Trading Corp. (LFTC) and Liberty Real Assets Investment Corp. (LRAIC), has agreed to pay $170,000 in penalty and restitution to settle charges made by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that he defrauded investor clients. The CFTC says that LRAIC, LFTC, and…
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is charging Diego Mariano Rolando, an Argentine investment adviser, for his role in a $43.8 scheme that defrauded some 400 investors in the United States, South America, and Europe. Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut issued a restraining…
The city of Cleveland, Ohio is suing 21 financial institutions for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages caused by subprime lending and securitization. The defendants named in the lawsuit are: • Deutsche Bank Trust Company • Ameriquest Mortgage Company • Bank of America Corporation • The Bear Stearns Companies…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have each began their own investigations into the sales and marketing practices of certain collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), FINRA sent more than 12 broker-dealers a sweeps letter requesting more information about: the sales of principals only, interest…
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has found K.W. Brown & Company, K.W. Brown Investments, 21st Century Advisors, the companies’ owner Kenneth Brown, his spouse Wendy Brown, and representative Michael Cimilluca liable for their involvement in a cherry-picking scam that earned them $4.5 million and cost…
On Christmas Eve a Bear Stearns client received a present – a check for $1,000 – less some fees. While a check for $1,000 at Christmas time can come in handy, it was no gift since this was to close out an investment by the client in 2001 of almost…