Securities Fraud: Ex-LPL Rep is Indicted in Colorado, 15 Convictions in Indiana Securities Case, North Carolina Analyst Faces Criminal Charges, and ex-Illinois Investment Banker is Accused of Insider Trading

Former LPL Broker Indicted for $850K Securities Fraud and Theft
Sonya Camarco, an ex-LPL (LPLA) financial broker, has been indicted in Colorado on seven counts of theft and six counts of securities fraud. She is accused of taking over $850K in client funds for her own use between 1/2013 and 5/2017.

Camarco was fired by LPL last month. Her BrokerCheck record on the FINRA database indicate that she was let go for depositing third-party checks for clients into an account she controlled. Camarco is accused of failing to disclose to clients, including one elderly investor who had dementia, that she was depositing the funds in this manner. If this is true then not only is this a matter of financial fraud but also this would be a case of senior financial fraud.

Securities Fraud Involving Earth Energy Exploration Bilks Investors of $3M
In Indiana, fifteen people were convicted and ordered to prison in a securities fraud case involving Earth Energy Exploration Inc. Investors in Texas and other states lost $3M.

Earth Energy Exploration was founded by David Rose. The company promised investors that their funds would go toward oil exploration production companies. Instead, company employees used the money for their own spending and to engage in money laundering.

Rose has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for securities fraud. Others who were indicted were sentenced for terms varying from one to six years.

Chicago Prosecutors Charge Stock Analyst and Investment Banker with Insider Trading and Securities Fraud
In Illinois, prosecutors have charged a North Carolina-based stock analyst with securities fraud. Jason Napodano is accused of insider trading prior to the publication of certain research reports and articles that he wrote. The US Securities and Exchange Commission, which brought parallel civil charges against him, said that Napodano included a false disclaimer with his writings claiming that he didn’t plan to trade in the companies that he was reporting on.

During the period at issue, Napodano was in charge of Zacks Small Cap Research, which is an affiliate of LMBZ Securities, a brokerage firm previously called Zacks and Co. He also founded Bio5C which is a research firm for pharmaceutical and biotech stocks.

To resolve the SEC’s case, Napodano has consented to be permanently barred from penny stock trading. He also agreed to pay back profits he purportedly made from insider trading: nearly $144K plus $17,620 in interest and a penalty of nearly $144K.

Meantime, Bilal Basrai, previously the managing director of an investment banking firm in Chicago, is also accused of using non-public information to make over $37K while buying and selling stock in three companies. According to the Chicago-Sun Times, Basrai plans to plead guilty to the criminal charge against him. Basrai and a man named Bryce Stirton, who also worked at LBMZ Securities, are also subject to civil charges. Prosecutors have filed a criminal case against Stirton.

Basrai and Stirton settled the SEC’s charges against them by agreeing to pay disgorgement, interest, and penalties. They are barred from the securities industry. Stirton is allowed to apply for readmission after five years.

Contact our securities fraud law firm so that we can help you explore your legal options. Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP has successfully represented thousands of investors.

Colorado Springs investment adviser indicted for securities fraud, theft, The Gazette, September 27, 2017

Securities Fraud Case Leads to 15 Convictions, Inside Indiana Business, September 27, 2017

U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago Charges Financial Analyst and Former Investment Banker with Fraud for Allegedly Profiting from Insider Trading, Justice.Gov, September 26, 2017

Stock Market Analyst Barred for Illegally Cashing in on His Research Reports: Two Investment Bankers Also Charged in Insider Trading Case, SEC, September 26, 2017

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Hilliard Lyons Ordered to Pay $569K For Allegedly Overconcentrating Accounts in Breitburn Energy Partners, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, September 25, 2017

SEC Charges Texas Oil and Gas Promoter With Securities Fraud, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 19, 2017

HSBC Ordered to Pay $175M Fine Over Forex Trading Oversight, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, September 30, 2017