The US Securities and Exchange Commission has brought civil enforcement charges against Amir Bruno Elmaani, also known by his online moniker “Bruno Block.”  The SEC charges two categories of securities violations: (1) an illegal securities distribution of digital tokens, and (2) a scheme to enrich by minting unauthorized tokens at no cost and dumping them...Read More

The Law Firm of David R. Chase is conducting an investigation to determine whether investors have legal claims to recoup their losses suffered in investments offered by Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Ltd.  These investments include: Global Interest Accumulator Global VIP Elite Global Index Product Global Advantage Select Global Advantage Plus Series Numerous securities brokers and...Read More

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed charges against an individual for acting as an unregistered investment adviser and defrauding a Puerto Rico Municipality to the tune of $7.1 million in taxpayer dollars. The SEC alleges in its enforcement action that Eugenio Garcia Jimenez, Jr., in 2016, represented to municipal officials that he could invest...Read More

Reasons to Hire an SEC Whistleblower Lawyer The Securities and Exchange Commission has, since 2010, maintained an Office of the Whistleblower.  Its purpose is to incentivize individuals through monetary payments (bounties up to 30% of recovered monies by the SEC in excess of $1 million) to come forward and report, including anonymously, violations of the...Read More

Did You Invest in 1st Global Capital Through a Stockbroker or Financial Advisor and Have Concerns About Your Investment? 1st Global Capital filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into the possible: (1) sale of unregistered securities, (2) sales of securities by unregistered brokers, and (3) fraud in...Read More

In a high-profile enforcement action, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Congressman Christopher Collins, his son and his son’s girlfriend’s father with illegal insider trading.  In a coordinated move, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed parallel criminal charges against all three arising out of the same underlying illicit securities trading. In...Read More

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently charged a former Equifax Chief Information Officer of a U.S business division with engaging in illegal insider trading ahead of Equifax’s September 2017 announcements of a massive data breach. The SEC’s complaint alleged that Jun Ying, who was next in line to become Equifax’s Global CIO, used confidential,nonpublic...Read More

FINRA recently censured Huntleigh Securities Corporation and ordered it to pay $98,252.33, plus interest, in restitution to customers pursuant to an AWC (Acceptance, Waiver and Consent) settlement. The firm was also required to review and amend, as necessary, its written supervisory procedures (WSPs) and compliance policies. With neither admitting nor denying the findings, the firm...Read More

FINRA has censured and imposed a $250,000 fine upon City National Securities, Inc., a registered broker-dealer located in Beverly Hills, California. With neither admitting nor denying the findings contained in the FINRA AWC (Acceptance, Waiver and Consent), the firm consented to findings that it failed to supervise certain registered representatives to ensure their compliance with FINRA rules involving outside business activities, private securities...Read More

More SEC Adviser Exams Projected for 2017 and 2018 An article published in InvestmentNews on November 4, 2017, reported that the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, intends to increase the number of financial adviser examinations conducted by the SEC each year, thus enabling the securities law enforcement agency’s examination division...Read More