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SEC-FINRA Defense Blog
The Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission has always been vigilant in attempting to police the Wild West of the stock promotion world — the supposed dark, underbelly of the financial markets. Historically, the SEC has prosecuted promoters for stock manipulation (pump and dumps), manipulative trading (wash sales, match trades and painting the...
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While brokerage firms prevail in most of their promissory note and forgivable loan cases, there are exceptions to the rule when a financial advisor can claim a “win”. Typically, however, the “win” involves the arbitration panel awarding the advisor a “shave” or reduction, sometimes substantial, on the note balance. But, still, even in those “wins”,...
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The Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) continues to aggressively target registered investment advisors in administrative complaints. The OFR’s administrative complaints are primarily focused on alleged violations of the custody and safekeeping requirements under Florida law. In all of the cases in which I have been involved, the investment advisor is alleged to be in...
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At first glance, the SEC’s insider trading settlement with professional golfer Phil Mickelson is noteworthy if only because of Mickelson’s celebrity status and the press coverage it has generated. However, looking beyond the sordid tabloid appeal of a high-profile athlete becoming entangled with individuals who are alleged to have been waist-deep in a long-running insider...
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Blowing the whistle to the Securities and Exchange Commission — even when the SEC is already hot on the trail of the securities wrongdoer — can be quite lucrative. Case in point: the SEC recently announced a whistleblower award of more than $3.5 million to a company employee whose tip “bolstered” its ongoing investigation with...
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Chalk up one for the good guy. Brandon Neal, a former Morgan Stanley broker, achieved a rare, total victory in defense of a FINRA promissory note arbitration claim filed against him by Morgan Stanley. The claim sought approximately $215,000 in debt and another $100,000 or so in interest and attorney’s fees. In response, Mr. Neal...
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In a rare event, a federal court recently ordered the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, to refund to a now defunct hedge fund — Level Global Investors — $21.5 million in settlement monies the hedge fund paid in 2013 to settle SEC insider trading charges. The Federal Court’s Order was issued based upon...
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The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed an enforcement action against a Deutsche Bank research analyst, Charles P. Grom, for his certification of a buy rating on the stock of Big Lots, a discount retailer, even though his opinion had grown bearish after he became privy to negative information from discussions with company executives. The...
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The Securities and Exchange Commission recently brought fraud charges against a securities broker-dealer, Portfolio Advisors Alliance (PAA), in connection with its role as placement agent in a high yield securities offering. The SEC also sued the broker dealer’s owner, Howard Allen, and its President, Kerri Wasserman. The broker-dealer served as placement agent for the sale...
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While the SEC has always prioritized insider trading investigations in its enforcement program, and publicly touts its successful cases when filed and settled, the truth is that many insider trading investigations simply do not see the light of day and are closed without enforcement action. The reason: insider trading is very difficult for the SEC...
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