The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice have separately filed charges against a number of people for their alleged involvement in a $12 million stock-loan fraud scam. The criminal case involves charges filed for securities fraud conspiracy and other charges against stock-loan traders at Janney Montgomery Scott…
Callan & Associates has settled charges made by the SEC that the pension consultant firm incompletely disclosed a conflict of interest in an investment adviser registration form. The firm has agreed to obey the SEC’s cease and desist order. According to the SEC, Callan told clients that BNY Brokerage Inc.…
Morgan Stanley says it will pay $12.5 million as part of a settlement to resolve charges that the company neglected to produce e-mails that had been lost during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced the settlement on Thursday. Morgan Stanley…
Former Goldman Sachs & Co. Associate Eugene Plotnik has pled guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, in addition to eight counts of insider trading. The charges carry a maximum of 165 years in prison. Plotnik had been charged with running a “multi-faceted,” multi-million dollar scam that used inside information…
In the past year, the Department of Defense has kept up its “war” against bogus financial advisers in an effort to protect military members that are wanting to invest. Last September, state insurance regulators were given one year to cooperate with the Secretary of Defense in developing strategies to protect…
The SEC and NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo are conducting a probe of credit rating agencies to examine their policies regarding debt-related securities. Standard & Poor’s (S & P), Fitch Ratings Inc., and Moody’s Investors Service have all been contacted by the SEC and questioned about their procedures and policies…
Founded 99 years ago, Moody’s Investors Service claims it “is among the world’s most respected and widely utilized sources for credit ratings, research and risk analysis.” Standard & Poor’s traces its origins to the 1860 publication of Henry Varnum Poor’s History of Railroads and Canals in the United States, a…
As discussed in earlier postings, after a court overturned the “Merrill Rule,” which exempted brokerage firms from duties of Investment Advisors Act of 1940, brokerage firms say they will cease “fee based” accounts rather than assume duties to clients mandated my that legislation. However, as predicted, regulators and legislators will…
Regulators in Massachusetts have charged Morgan Stanley and three of its employees with illegally cold calling people that had posted their resumes on CareerBuilder.com. According to the complaint by the stae, Arlen Fox, a Morgan Stanley broker in Boston, regularly downloaded thousands of resumes off the Web site. He and…
Legacy Financial Services Inc., an independent broker-dealer, has closed shop. Last July, the Petaluma, California company sold most of its affiliated registered representatives and their accounts to Multi-Financial Securities Corp. Some 125 advisers with close to $10 million in gross dealer concession were transferred by Multi-Financial. A number of Legacy…