SEC Category Archives — Page 11 of 24 — Investor Lawyers Blog Published By Investment Fraud Attorneys

Securities Fraud: SEC Charges Unregistered California Man with Fraud, FINRA Bars Two Brokers, Second Scam Lands Man in Jail Again

Published on: February 17, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

SEC Files Charges in $1.9M Broker Scam
A California man is facing Securities and Exchange Commission charges. The regulator is accusing Gregory Ruehle of fraudulently selling purported stock in a medical device company and keeping investors’ money. The unregistered broker purportedly raised about $1.9M from over 100 investors but did not transfer or deliver the securities that they purchased to them. Meantime, Ruehle is said to have used the funds to cover his personal spending and pay off gambling debts.

According to the SEC, Ruehle began bilking investors in 2012. He allegedly misrepresented to investors in Minnesota and California that he would sell them securities that he owned in ICB International Inc., for which he was a former consultant.

Instead, said the regulator, Ruehle sold investors more securities than what he owned and he failed to tell them that the securities that belonged to him were not transferrable. Ruehle is accused of generating fake documents that he claimed came from the company and issuing bogus company stock certificates to investors, along with a letter that falsely stated that the stock had been transferred to them.

The SEC wants permanent injunction, disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and penalties against Ruehle. The unregistered broker is also now the subject of criminal charges in a parallel case that was brought by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

FINRA Bars Two Men for Hedge Fund Fraud
In other broker news, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has announced that it is barring brokers Walter F. Grenda and Timothy S. Dembski from the securities industry. The industry bar is for fraud involving the sale of the Prestige Wealth Management Fund, LP, which is a hedge fund.
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Securities Fraud: Ex-Broker Jerry McCutchen Under Investigation for REIT Sales, Hedge Fund Manager Must Pay $18M to SEC, and NASAA Steps Up Fight Against Elder Financial Fraud

Published on: February 13, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former Broker Is Subject of Numerous Securities Claims
If you are an investor who sustained losses after purchased real estate investments trusts with the help of former broker Jerry McCutchen, you may have grounds for a securities claim. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck Report, McCutchen is accused of making unsuitable investment recommendations and he has been the subject of over a dozen broker fraud claims alleging negligence, misrepresentations, and other claims.

In one case, McCutchen, while registered with Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc., is accused of placing a couple’s retirement funds in speculative, illiquid, alternative investments that he misrepresented as safe investments in line with the husband and wife’s investment goal to keep their money safe. In reality the Tier REIT, the Icon Leasing Fund Twelve LLC, and others, did not have proper diversity or allocation and were not suitable for the couple.

McCutchen is not registered with any firm at this time nor is he a licensed broker at the moment. He was registered with Berthel Fisher & Co., Bay City Securities, Next Financial Group, First Funds Inc., FSC Securities Corp, Central Brokerage Services, Commonwealth Equity Services, MML Investors, Proequities Inc., and Walnut Street Securities.

NY Hedge Fund Manager Ordered to Pay $18M
Moazzam “Mark” Malik, and his American Bridge Investment Group LLC are facing SEC charges accusing them of bilking 19 clients of over $1M through the sale of limited partnership interests in a fake hedge fund that was run under different names. The SEC said that Malik claimed that the fund held $100M when that amount was never more than about $90,000. Now, the regulator is ordering Malik to pay $18M.
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SEC Files Fraud Charges Against American Growth Funding II

Published on: February 5, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission is pursuing a securities fraud case against American Growth Funding II, LLC. The regulator contends that the company, which raises money for business loans, lied to investors that bought high-yield securities. Also subject to charges is brokerage firm Portfolio Advisors Alliance, Ralph Johnson, Kerri Wasserman, and Howard Allen III.

In its complaint, the regulator said that AGF II sold about $8.6M AGF II units to at least 85 investors through Portfolio Advisers Alliance. The sales occurred in a private placement between 3/11 and 12/13.

However, investors were purportedly not told that AGF II’s principal asset had significantly dropped in value, which lessened the chances that investors would be repaid in full let alone make the12% interest yearly they were promised.

In private placement memoranda that were put out in ’11 and ’12, Johnson is accused of misrepresenting that the lending company’s financial statements had been audited and would continue to be audited periodically. The statements for ’11 and ’12 were not audited until 2014.

The SEC believes that Johnson, who played a central part in preparing the private placement memoranda, knew and acted in reckless disregard and was aware that misrepresentations were made to investors. He also is accused of causing investors to get an email in 2013 that contained false statements noting that an accounting firm was working on an audit, which was not, in fact, the case, and issuing monthly statements that concealed the company’s financial woes. Investors were not made aware that because most of AGF II’s loans were likely uncollectible, the firm wouldn’t be able to pay the account balances that were noted in the statements.
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SEC Cautions Mutual Funds That They May be Misdirecting “Sub-Accounting Fees” And Impacting Investor Returns

Published on: January 8, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management has put out a guidance on its website cautioning mutual fund directors to more closely scrutinize the money that is paid to brokers and certain other intermediaries. The warning comes following a sweep exam, which found that fees that should be going toward record-keeping and other administrative services are instead being directed toward encouraging fund sales. A number of mutual funds, brokerage firms, investment advisers, and transfer agents were examined prior to the issuance of this guidance.

SEC rules stipulate that sub-accounting fees cannot go toward finance distribution. These fees should only go toward record-keeping and shareholder services. However, there is an issue with mutual fund-maintained omnibus accounts in which all the fees can be placed together. In such instances, payments made to brokers for selling certain funds may get buried in these administrative fees.

Now, the Commission wants fund directors to watch out for fees that intermediaries selling the funds are getting for account services. It wants these directors to establish processes to assess whether a sub-accounting fee is being harnessed to increase sales. It also is calling on fund service providers and advisers to explain distribution and servicing specifics to fund directors.
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Man Released from Prison Faces New Fraud Charges in $11M Investor Stock Scam

Published on: December 26, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Edward Durante with bilking investors once again. Durante, who already served a 10-year sentence for a previous securities fraud conviction, is accused of using different aliases to defraud even more investors of millions of dollars and hiding his criminal past.

According to the regulator, Durante sold shares of a shell company that he was secretly in control of and told investors that stock sale proceeds would support the company’s operations. Instead, he allegedly used the funds for his own spending while the company’s stock was worthless.

The Commission contends that Durante started planning this scam while in prison. He purportedly used the name Anthony Walsh to acquire VGTel Inc. He scammed at least 50 inexperienced investors of at least $11 million by selling them this shell company’s stock. (Financial Advisor magazine places the number of investors bilked at closer to 100 investors.)
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Securities Fraud Cases: Wedbush to Pay $813K Over Investment Fraud Allegations, SEC Files Pump-and-Dump Charges in Marley Coffee Case, and CFTC Accuses IB Capital of Soliciting $50M for Forex Trading While Unregistered

Published on: November 18, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Wedbush to Pay Trusts, Family Members Over $813,000
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Panel says that Wedbush securities and investment advisor Kevin Thomas Scarpelli must jointly and severally pay several investors over $813,000 to resolve allegations of professional negligence and failure to supervise related to investments made in Natural Resources USA Corp. The respondents denied the allegations and asked that the claims be thrown own.

After considering the pleadings, evidence, and testimony, the panel decided that Wedbush and Scarpelli must pay claimants: Mary L. Riscornia TTEE nearly $263,000, Jennifer Tiscornia over $252,313, Nicolas E. Toussaint over $55,300, Nicolas E. Toussaint TTEE over $1800, Michael J. Nicolai over $18,4000, Michael Nicolai TTEE over $156,221, Jeffrey M. Nicolai over $22,154, Katherine M. Nicolai over $22,000 and Alexandria P. Nicolai over $22,000 in damages, interest, legal fees, and costs. The FINRA panel denied Scarpelli’s request to have his record expunged of this securities case.

SEC Files Charges in $78M Pump-and-Dump Scam Involving Jammin’ Java Stock, Marley Trademark
The Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing ex-Jammin’ Java CEO Shane Whittle of masterminding a $78 million pump-and-dump scam involving the company’s shares. Jammin’ Java operates Marley Coffee, which uses the late reggae legend Bob Marley’s trademark to sell products.

According to the regulator, Whittle used a reverse merger to-in secret-get control of millions of Jammin’ Java shares, which he then spread to offshore entities under the control of Michael Sun, Wayne Weaver, and René Berlinger. The shares were dumped on the public after their price rose in the wake of bogus promotional campaigns. Whittle purportedly hid the scam by making misleading omissions and statements in reports submitted to the SEC.
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SEC Headlines: Regulator Warns Investment Advisors About Outsourcing Compliance, Chairwoman White Talks About Private Placement Fundraising, Criticizes Bill Seeking to Place Limits on BDCs

Published on: November 14, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission is reminding advisory firms to stay aware of their own compliance functions. After about 20 examinations of advisers that utilized compliance firms, the regulator found that external compliance officers sometimes were not aware of a firm’s business access, did not communicate regularly with firm principals, nor did they have access to company documents.

Issuing a risk alert, the SEC said that whether a chief compliance officer is a direct employee of a registrant, a consultant, or a contractor, this employee should be given adequate information and authority to be able to do the job. The Commission said that it is the job of the registrant to put into place and execute a compliance program that works. It also warned that firms that do outsource their compliance function might be at risk of not comprehending their own possible shortcomings in this matter. The SEC said that outsourced CCOs should be careful about using “standardized checklists” to get information from advisory firms.

In other SEC news, Commission chairwoman Mary Jo White said that even though private placement issuers, private equity managers, and hedge funds are raising more funds from investors now more than before, the incidents of related fraud is not rising. Some people worried that when the 2012 Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act got rid of the ban on the general solicitation of certain kinds of private placements, there would be those that would use this as an opportunity to take advantage of less sophisticated investors. However, even with the new regulations, not that many private equity managers, hedge funds, and private placement issuers are taking advantage of the opportunity to advertise directly to investors.
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Securities Cases: More Brokers Identified by SEC in Stock Rigging Case, Former Ameriprise Broker Gets Prison Term for Fraud, and Boeing Settles 401K Case for Almost $57M

Published on: November 4, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

SEC Names More Brokers in Penny Stock Rigging Case Filed Last Year
The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging three more people related to a $300M penny stock rigging case that it filed last year. In federal court, the regulator sought to lift the stay in its civil case to submit an amended lawsuit and now also name brokers Ronald Heineman and Michael Morris, as well as lawyer Darren Ofsink.

The SEC says that Morris and Heineman executed the scam through their brokerage firm awhile Ofsink made money illegally by selling unregistered shares even though no exemption for registration was valid. Meantime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York is fling criminal charges against Ofsink ad Morris.

Per the amended SEC complaint, in 2013 Abraxas Discala, Marc Exler, and brokers Craig Josephburg and Matthew Bell were involved in a scam to raise the price of CodeSmart Holdings stock. The men intended to make money at the expense of Josephberg’s customers and Bell’s clients. Heineman and Morris, who own Halcyon Cabot Partners-the firm where Josephberg was employed-allegedly were involved in the securities scam. The two men are accused of secretly consenting to buy shares of CodeSmart at pre-set prices so that Discala could liquidate his positions at prices that were artificially raised. Meantime, Ofsink, who played a part in the execution of the company’s reverse merger into a public shell company, made money by illegally selling securities of CodeSmart that were not registered.

Trading in CodeSmart has been suspended because the company hasn’t submitted periodic reports since late 2014 and due to purportedly suspect market activity.

Former Ameriprise Adviser Gets Prison Term for Defrauding Clients of Over $1M
Former Ameriprise (AMP) adviser Susan Elizabeth Walker wills serve more than seven years behind bars for defrauding at least 24 retirement accounts of over $1.1M. Walker was convicted of tax evasion and mail fraud. She pled guilty last year to the criminal accounts.

Walker offered financial planning services through the firm from October 2008 through March 2013. She also was registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and was a securities agent under the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
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SEC Probes Advisers With Access to Client Retirement Accounts, Approves Crowdfunding Rules Connecting Investors with Small Businesses

Published on: October 31, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to InvestmentNews, the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking at instances in which advisers have access to their clients’ financial accounts that they don’t manage. The SEC wants to make sure that these advisors are unable to take distributions from these accounts if they don’t have custody over them.

The SEC has been taking a closer look at custody since the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scam that bilked investors billions of dollars. Madoff was in control of most of his clients’ money.

In 2013, the regulator, seeking to stave off the next big investor scheme, noted that red flags were raised for 140 firms that were examined in 2012 because of they way they had access to or held the assets of clients. “Significant deficiencies” were found.
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Florida Investment Adviser is Charged With Securities Fraud

Published on: October 5, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging investment adviser Arthur F. Jacob and his Innovative Business Solutions LLC with fraud. The regulator claims that the two of them deceived clients from 2009 into 2014 and violated the federal securities laws’ antifraud provisions along with an SEC antifraud rule.

In its order instituting administrative proceedings regarding the purported investment adviser fraud, the SEC Enforcement Division contended that IBS and Jacob misrepresented the profitability and risks of investments he had bought for clients. Rather than disclosing the risks involved in certain exchange-traded funds, Jacob purportedly told clients that his investment approach was safe, presented no or little risk, and would garner predictable earnings. He also is accused of making misstatements to clients regarding their investments’ profitability.

Jacob and his Florida-based firm are not registered as an investment adviser with the regulator or any state. He is accused of telling clients that registration was not mandatory and of hiding his disciplinary history. For example, Jacob was disbarred from being an attorney because he misappropriated client moneys and engaged in other misconduct, including make false statements while under oath and to the Bar Counsel, submitting false tax returns for a client, charging unreasonable fees, and violating a court order.
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