Articles Posted in Financial Firms

Raymond James Settles Auction-Rate Securities Case with Indiana Securities Division for $31M

Published on: August 27, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Raymond James has agreed to return $31,240,000 to Indiana investors to settle allegations that it misled them about the risks involved in the auction-rate securities market. In addition to repurchasing ARS that have been frozen since the market failed in 2008, the financial firm will also pay a $63,000 civil penalty.

When the ARS market froze, investors that had thought their investments were liquid like cash were left in the lurch because they were not able to retrieve their funds. The Indiana Securities Division has been at the helm of the efforts to investigated Raymond James and work out a settlement for all state securities regulators. Over the last few years, the states have worked hard to get all of the financial firms accused of not fully apprising investors about the ARS risks to buy back the securities.

Auction-Rate Securities
ARS are long-term investments with dividends or interest rates paid that are frequently reset through auctions that take place at specific intervals. The auctions are supposed to give a source of liquidity to investors wanting to sell their ARS.

Unfortunately, when the ARS market collapsed in early 2008, many of the auctions started to fail and investors could not get rid of their ARS holdings. This proved a problem for those that managed their ARS as a way to get easy access to cash.

While some ARS issuers did say they would redeem shares-usually at par value-some could not redeem all of their investors’ shares, which left the latter with holdings that could not be liquidated.

ARS and Hoosier Investors
The state of Indiana has also reached ARS settlements with other securities firms that allegedly misled Hoosier investors. In April of last year, 12 financial firms agreed to buyback over $370 million in ARS from these investors, while also consenting to pay over $3.5 million in fines. Financial firms that reached settlements then include:

• Goldman Sachs • Banc of America • Credit Suisse • Citigroup • JP Morgan • Deutsch Bank
• Morgan Stanley • Merrill Lynch • RBC • UBS • Stifel Nicolaus & Co.
• Wachovia
These financial firms have also reached settlements with other US states. However, millions of dollars in ARS remain frozen and there is still more to be done to help investors regain access to their frozen funds. Our stockbroker fraud law firm continues to work hard to help recoup our clients’ money from their ARS that turned illiquid.

Securities Fraud
Investors rely on brokers and investment advisers for advice on where they should place their money. When a financial adviser misleads a client, causing the latter to put their money in investments that are inappropriate, it is the investor who loses out and has to live with the consequences of a failed investment.

State Announces $31 Million Securities Settlement, Inside Indiana Business, August 24, 2011
State finalizes auction-rate securities settlements, Indianapolis Business Journal, April 29, 2010
Auction Rate Securities: What Happens When Auctions Fail, FINRA

More Blog Posts:
Auction-Rate Securities Investigations by SEC and NY Attorney General Are Ongoing, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 21, 2011
Class Auction-Rate Securities Lawsuit Against Raymond James Financial Survives Dismissal, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, September 27, 2010
Credit Suisse Ordered to Pay STMicroelectronics N.V. $404M Over Improper ARS Investment, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, June 15, 2011 Continue Reading ›

Goldman Sachs CEO Hires Prominent Defense Attorney in the Wake of Justice Department Probe into Mortgage-Backed Securities

Published on: August 24, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Now that the Justice Department is investigating Goldman Sachs (GS), Lloyd C. Blankfein, the broker-dealer’s chief executive, has retained the services of a prominent defense attorney. This move comes following allegations by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations accusing firm executives of misleading investors and Congress about mortgage-backed securities. News of Reid Weingarten’s hiring caused Goldman Sachs’ shares to drop almost 5%. On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs lost almost $2.7 billion in market value.

The Senate panel issued a report claiming that Goldman Sachs misled investors when it failed to disclose that it was betting against securities that they were buying from the financial firm. The report also accuses the financial firm’s CEO of lying under oath when making the claim that the financial firm did not have a massive short position against the housing market.

Weingarten is a leading criminal defense attorney at Steptoe & Johnson. He previously represented ex-Enron accounting officer Richard Causey, ex-WorldCom chief executive Bernard Ebbers, ex-Duane Reade chief executive Anthony Cuity, and ex-Tyco International general counsel Mark Belnick.

The senate panel’s report, which is 639 pages long, comes after a 2-year bipartisan investigation. The subcommittee found that traders and executives tried to eliminate their exposure to the subprime mortgage market while shorting the market to make a profit.

The panel accused Goldman of misleading clients when it didn’t tell them that it was betting or shorting against their investments. In 2007, Goldman’s mortgage department made a $1.2 billion profit.

Goldman Sachs’s latest quarterly filing with the SEC reveals that the financial is under scrutiny for a number of issues, including its role as a clearing broker and its compliance with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The investment bank is also be under investigation at the state, federal, and local levels and is the recipient of subpoenas. In 2010, Goldman Sachs agreed to settle for $550 million charges by the SEC that it misled clients about a synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) when the housing market was collapsing.

Recently, Allstate (ALL) sued Goldman Sachs Group for the over $123 million in MBS that it says that the financial firm fraudulently sold it. Allstate claims that Goldman issued misstatements and made omissions about the mortgages. The National Credit Union Administration also just filed its securities fraud case seeking $491 million from Goldman for the purchase of more than $1.2 billion in MBS sales. NCUA blames Goldman and other financial firms, including JPMorgan and RBS Securities, for the failure of five wholesale credit unions. NCUA says that because of the way Goldman handled the mortgage-backed securities sales, the credit unions did not know they were taking on such huge risks when they made those investments.

Why Goldman Investors Are Overreacting, New York Times, August 23, 2011

Goldman confirms Blankfein and other execs hired outside lawyers, Efinancial News, August 23, 2011

More Blog Posts:
NCUA’s Sues Goldman Sachs for $491M Over $1.2B of Mortgage-Back Securities Sales That Caused Credit Unions’ Failure, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, August 23, 2011

Goldman Sachs Settles SEC Subprime Mortgage-CDO Related Charges for $550 Million, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, July 30, 2010

Goldman Sachs Group Made Money From Financial Crisis When it Bet Against the Subprime Mortgage Market, Says US Senate Panel, Institutional Investors Securities Blog, April 15, 2011

NCUA Sues Goldman Sachs for $491M Over $1.2B of Mortgage-Back Securities Sales That Caused Credit Unions’ Failure

Published on: August 23, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

In its fifth MBS lawsuit seeking what is now totaling to be nearly $2 billion in compensatory damages for wholesale credit union members, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) wants $491 million in compensatory damages from Goldman Sachs. NCUA is accusing the financial firm of misrepresenting the MBS that were sold to member credit unions that then sustained huge losses that led to their failure.

Goldman Sachs allegedly misrepresented material facts in prospectuses, marketing collaterals, and when selling the MBS. Because of this, NCUA says that the credit unions thought that the risk of loss for their investments was low.

NCUA filed its securities complaint against Goldman Sachs in California district court. NCUA is serving as the liquidating agent for the corporate credit unions that failed. It has filed other securities lawsuits seeking nearly $2 billion in compensatory damages. Two of the other defendants that NCUA is suing are RBS Securities and JPMorgan. Both, and others, are accused of underestimating the risks involved with the MBS.

Texas Securities Fraud: Ex-Triton Financial CEO Convicted of Ponzi Scam that Bilked Ex-Heisman Trophy Winner Ty Detmer, Other Former NFL Players, and Hundreds of Other Investors of of Millions

Published on: August 22, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Kurt Branham Barton, the former CEO, president, and founder of Triton Financial, has been convicted of running a $50 million Ponzi scam that bilked over 300 investors across the country, including former Heisman Trophy winners Ty Detmer, Chris Weinke, and Earl Campbell, NFL Kicker David Akers, and ex-NFL quarterback Jeff Blake. Barton could be sentenced to life in prison for the Texas securities fraud.

A jury convicted Barton on almost 39 criminal counts, including numerous counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, making false statements to financial institutions in order to get loans, money laundering, and one count of securities fraud. The Ponzi scam ran for four years through 2009.

According to prosecutors, Barton lied to investors, including relatives, business leaders, pro football players, and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints members, when he said that his financial firm was using their money to invest in business, real estate, and short-term business loans. In fact, Barton was taking their funds to cover personal expenses, including luxury football tickets, expensive clothes, and sports cars. He deceived potential investors, commercial lenders, and financial institutions by presenting them with bogus monthly account statements.

Examples of those hit hard by Barton’s Texas securities scam is Detmer, who, during his testimony, admitted that he lost approximately $2 million-that’s the majority of his life savings-in the Ponzi scheme. The former NFL quarterback, who is now a coach in Austin, says he has been forced to liquidate accounts that were supposed to go to his daughters’ college education. He also had to put up his house for sale. Detmer thought Barton was his best friend. The two met at church. Detmer says that he even brought new investors to Barton. Another pro football player, David Akers, now of the San Francisco 49ers, lost over $3 million because of Barton’s scam. There are also many investors that aren’t famous who sustained significant losses because of the Texas Ponzi scam, including Diane Gordon, who lost her husband’s entire life insurance payment of approximately $850,000.

In 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a securities fraud lawsuit against Barton and two of his businesses. The SEC accused Barton of using famous celebrity athletes, stockbrokers, and others to promote Triton securities to new investors. Without denying or admitting to the SEC’s allegations, all defendants agreed to permanent injunctions from securities fraud violations in the future, appointment of a receiver, prohibition of the destruction of documents, and orders freezing assets.

Ty Detmer testifies at Ponzi fraud trial, UPI, August 9, 2011
Austin investment broker convicted of using NFL stars, churches to defraud clients, The Washington Post, August 17, 2011
The SEC’s Complaint (PDF)

More Blog Posts:
Ex-Triton Financial CEO Accused of Using NFL Contacts to Commit $50M Texas Securities Fraud, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, February 17, 2011
Texas Securities Fraud: Insurance Agent Could Get 100 Years Behind Bars for Using Fraudulent Annuities to Bilk Elderly Seniors of Over $5M, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, August 9, 2011
Accused Texas Ponzi Scammer May Have Defrauded Investors of $2M, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, August 3, 2011 Continue Reading ›

Allstate Files Securities Fraud Lawsuit Against Goldman Sachs Over More Than $123M of Mortgage-Backed Securities

Published on: August 18, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to Allstate Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. committed securities fraud by fraudulently selling the insurer over $123 million of mortgage-backed securities prior to the collapse of the housing market. Allstate is also accusing Goldman of making “untrue statements” and leaving out “material facts” about the mortgages.

Allstate Insurance Corp, a subsidiary of Allstate Corp, filed the securities fraud complaint in New York State Supreme Court this week. The plaintiff is accusing the broker of violating state laws and negligent misrepresentation. Allstate believes that Goldman marketed the MBS as low-risk with strict underwriting criteria even though the latter knew the lenders had stopped abiding by the guidelines and that loans were being produced without the chance of payback.

Goldman has already settled for $550 million similar securities fraud charges filed by the SEC. This was the largest penalty a Wall Street financial firm has ever been ordered to pay. The Commission claimed that Goldman encouraged investors to buy into complex mortgage investments while failing to tell them that a client who was betting against the securities had crafted them. In April, a Senate Report said that in an attempt to move risk away from Goldman and to investors, the broker marketed four complex mortgage securities.

With this latest securities lawsuit against Goldman, Allstate has now filed nine MBS lawsuits since December. The defendants of the other complaints are Countrywide Financial, Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, and Credit Suisse Group:

• The securities lawsuit against Countrywide is over $700 million of toxic MBS that the insurer purchased. Bank of America is named in the complaint because it purchased Countrywide in 2008.

• The complaint against Morgan Stanley is over Allstate’s purchase of over $104 million in residential MBS in six offerings and the broker’s “central role” in creating and selling the securities. Allstate says that Morgan Stanley either knew or “recklessly disregarded” that the lenders involved were putting out risky loans that were not in compliance with underwriting standards.

• Allstate’s lawsuit against Merrill Lynch involves the allegedly fraudulent sale of approximately $167 million of residential mortgage-backed securities.

• The insurer is accusing JP Morgan Chase of misrepresenting the risks involved in over $757 million of mortgage securities that it purchased.

• Allstate bought over $200 million of MBS from the Citigroup defendants and approximately $185 million from the Deutsche bank units. Misrepresentations and omissions related underwriting standards, loan-to-value ratios, and owner occupancy data are among the allegations.

• Allstate’s securities lawsuit against Credit Suisse is over $231 million of MBS. Allstate, which bought the securities from the financial firm, says that the latter did not disclose that the underlying loans were toxic. Allstate is alleging fraudulent inducement, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation.

Our securities fraud attorneys represent investors who have suffered financial losses from investing in mortgage-backed securities.

Allstate sues Goldman over sour mortgage-backed securities, USA Today, August 16, 2011

Allstate Sues Goldman Sachs Over Toxic Mortgage Securities, Insurance Journal, August 17, 2011

More Blog Posts:
Morgan Stanley Reports a Possible $1.7B in Mortgage-Backed Securities Losses, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, August 16, 2011

Bank of America and Countrywide Financial Sued by Allstate over $700M in Bad Mortgaged-Backed Securities, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, December 29, 2010

Goldman Sachs Settles SEC Subprime Mortgage-CDO Related Charges for $550 Million, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, July 30, 2010

8/31/11 is Deadline for Opting Out of $100M Oppenheimer Mutual Funds Class Action Settlement

Published on: August 17, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Our securities fraud lawyers would like to remind you that if you want to opt out of the $100M class action settlement with Oppenheimer Mutual Funds you have to do so by August 31, 2011. OppenheimerFunds Inc. agreed to pay that amount over accusations that it mismanaged its Oppenheimer Champion Fund (OCHBX, OPCHX and OCHCX) and its Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund (OPIGX). The class action was filed by investors accusing OppenheimerFunds of misrepresenting in its offering documents the degree of risk involved in complex securitized instruments, including mortgage-backed securities and credit default swaps.

Under the class action agreement, Champion Fund investors are to be paid $52.5 million. Core Bond investors are to receive $47.5 million. While this amount may seem like a lot, with thousands of class action claimants, Core Bund Fund investors will likely receive approximately 12 cents on the dollar, while Champion Fund investors will receive about 3 cents on the dollar.

This is not a lot of money for your losses, which is why you may want to seriously consider opting out of the class action and pursuing your own securities lawsuit or arbitration claim. Please contact our stockbroker fraud law firm today and ask for your free case evaluation.

You have until August 31, 2011 to send a written exclusion to the class counsel. Your letter cannot be postmarked after the deadline. Failure to opt out will prevent you from filing your own case at a later today. You should, however, get your share of the settlement.

OppenheimerFunds is a Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company subsidiary. Defendants of the class action were charged with violating the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Securities Act of 1933.

The Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund lost at least 33% of its value in 2008. During the first three months of 2009 it lost another 10%. The bond was promoted as appropriate for and offered by a number of 529 college savings plans, a number of annuities, and retirement plans. The Champion Fund lost about 80% of its value in 2008.

While staying part of a class action in a securities case may appear to be the easy way to recover your investment losses, this is truly not the case. Why should you get back so much left when you’ve lost so much?

By retaining the services of an experienced securities fraud law firm, you increase your chances of recovering the maximum amount possible. We know how devastating it can be to lose money that you have worked so hard for and saved.

OppenheimerFunds Settles Mismanagement Case for $100 Million, Bloomberg Businessweek, July 26, 2011
OppenheimerFunds to pay $100 million to settle mismanagement case, Denver Post, July 27, 2011
More Blog Posts:
Mortgage-Backed Securities Lawsuit Against Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch Now a Class Action Case, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, June 25, 2011
Class Members of Charles Schwab Corporation Securities Litigation Can Still Opt Out to File Individual Securities Claim, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, December 6, 2010
Wells Fargo Settles Mortgage-Backed Securities Class Action Case for $125M, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, July 19, 2011 Continue Reading ›

Citigroup Global Markets Fined $500,000 by FINRA for Inadequate Supervision of Broker Accused of Bilking Sick and Elderly Investors

Published on: August 16, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Two months after a federal grand jury indicted Tamara Lanz Moon for misappropriating more than $800,000 in clients’ money, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Citigroup Global Markets $500,000 for failing to properly supervise her. Moon is charged with six counts of mail fraud. The acts of broker misconduct allegedly took place between 2001 and 2008, when the 43-year-old broker was employed by Citigroup Global Markets as a registered sales assistant with Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Court documents report that Moon targeted at least 22 Citigroup clients who were sick, elderly, or for some reason couldn’t properly monitor their accounts. Her alleged victims included an elderly client suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Moon also allegedly forged signatures, changed account documents, opened accounts with deceased clients’ social security numbers, created bogus letters of authorization, revised customer addresses, and made unauthorized trades. She was fired in 2008 after Citigroup finally discovered her alleged misconduct. FINRA would go on to permanently barred her from the industry. Moon, who was arrested by the FBI following recent indictment, is out on bail.

According to FINRA, Citigroup failed to investigate or detect a number of “red flags” that should have let the financial firm know that Moon was improperly handing client funds. The SRO is also accusing FINRA of failing to put into place reasonable controls and systems related to the supervisory review of client accounts, which allowed Moon to falsify records, and neglecting to identify suspicious activity related to disbursements and transfers in the accounts that she was using to misappropriate clients’ money.

Morgan Stanley Reports a Possible $1.7B in Mortgage-Backed Securities Losses

Published on: August 16, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Morgan Stanley says it may sustain $1.7B in losses over a number of securities fraud cases related to subprime mortgage deals. Citigroup Inc.’s (C.N) Citibank is the plaintiff of the securities lawsuit over the Capmark VI CDO and STACK 2006-1 CDO deals, while there are 15 plaintiffs seeking punitive damages over Cheyne Finance, a structured investment vehicle. Morgan Stanley is also reporting losses over a mortgage-backed security deal involving MBIA Corp.

Our securities fraud attorneys would like you to contact us if you are someone who sustained financial losses in any of these MBS deals with Morgan Stanley. Here are more details about the cases:

• Morgan Stanley says the losses in the Citibank securities fraud lawsuit may be a minimum of $269M over a credit default swap on the Capmark VI CDO deal and another one on the credit default swap involving the STACK 2006-1 CDO deal.

CapWest Loses $940,000 Dallas Securities Case in FINRA Arbitration

Published on: August 15, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ordered CapWest Securities Incorporated to pay nearly $940,000 in a Texas securities fraud case filed by a group of investors over the recommendation and sale of numerous illiquid, risky, convertible debentures. The claimants had accused CapWest of breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, state and federal securities law violations, fraud, gross negligence, negligence, and other actions.

Last month, the FINRA arbitration panel ordered CapWest to pay claimant Robert E. Lee, both as an individual and as a Robert Earl Lee Revocable Trust trustee, $137,000 in compensatory damages. CapWest was also ordered to pay $478,500 in compensatory damages to Beatrice M. McCrae and Buford E. McCrae, both as individuals and on behalf of B.E. McCrae Family Limited Partnership. Robert E. Lee was also to receive $37,330 in interest for the period of October 25, 2008 through July 15, 2011 at a 5% per annum rate. For Buford E. McCrae and Beatrice E. McCrae, the interest of 5% per annum was $95,180 for the period of October 16, 2006 through July 15, 2011. Under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Robert E. Lee is to receive $17,450 in punitive damages. Buford E. McCrae and Beatrice M. McCrae are to get paid $57,370. Payment of the claimants’ costs, legal fees, and other fees were also granted.

Convertible Debentures

AIG Files $10 Billion Mortgage-Backed Securities Lawsuit Against Bank of America

Published on: August 13, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

American International Group (AIG) is seeking to recover over $10 billion in mortgage-backed securities-related losses from Bank of America (BAC). The losses were allegedly sustained on $28 billion in investments.

In what may be the largest MBS-related action filed by one investor, the complaint accuses Bank of America and its units Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch of misrepresenting the quality of the mortgages that were in the securities that investors bought. AIG also claims that Bank of America used false data to persuade the credit rating agencies to give the MBS high ratings.

Bank of America, which contends that the disclosures that were made were robust enough for sophisticated investors and that AIG is a “seasoned investor,” is denying AIG’s allegations against it. According to Bank of America spokesperson Lawrence Di Rita, the reason AIG suffered the financial losses at issue is because it was reckless in pursing profits and high yields in the “mortgage and structured finance markets.”

Bank of America’s 2008 acquisition of Countrywide for $4 billion has cost the financial firm much more in mortgage-related fines, losses, loan buybacks, and litigation expenses. Courthouse News Service database reports that Countrywide and Bank of America have been named as defendants in 1300 lawsuits in 2011 alone. Recently, Bank of America agreed to settle investor MBS claims for $8.5 billion. Parties to the settlement included the Bank of NY Mellon, BlackRock, the Federal reserve Bank of New York, and PIMCO. However, the New York Attorney General is now calling that settlement inadequate.

As for AIG, which is still largely owned by taxpayers following its 2008 government bailout, the New York Times says that the insurer is preparing similar securities fraud complaints against JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank to try to recover some of the billions that it lost during the economic crisis.

Government Not Proving Helpful In Pursuing Investment Banks
Contrary to investors, who are seeking to hold big banks accountable in civil court, the Justice Department closed many of its investigations into Wall Street’s big banks without filing any criminal charges. Although it has brought cases against three employees at big financial banks, no executives have been charged. However, a spokesperson for the Justice Department says that the government has pursued the cases were appropriate and that it is much more difficult to prove that a crime has been committed beyond a reasonable doubt than to find a party liable in civil court.

The New York Times reports that a person familiar with the case says that the Justice Department has concluded its investigation into Countrywide’s actions heading into the financial crises and that there will be no charges filed. The government also recently closed its probe into Washington Mutual, with the finding that there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. The Washington bank almost failed because of high-risk mortgages.

Related Web Resources:

AIG sues Bank of America for $10 billion over mortgages, USA Today/AP, August 8, 2011