Author Archives: FLSecurities
FINRA FINES UBS SECURITIES $12 MILLION FOR REGULATORY VIOLATIONS AND SUPERVISORY FAILURES RELATING TO SHORT SALE TRANSACTIONS
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined UBS Securities LLC $12 million for violation of Regulation SHO and its failure to adequately supervise its brokers regarding short sale transactions. A short sale involves the sale of a security the seller does not presently own. When delivery of the security is required, the seller… Read More »
SEC ORDERS FINRA TO IMPROVE INTERNAL COMPLIANCE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has ordered the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to hire an independent consultant to evaluate and recommend improvements to FINRA’s compliance policies, procedures and staff training regarding the integrity of documents produced to the SEC. The Order came about when it was learned that on August… Read More »
LOSSES CAUSED BY INVESTMENTS IN CHURCH BONDS
Rabin Kammerer Johnson is investigating losses caused by investments in church bonds pitched by various brokerage firms to religious-minded investors. The church bonds were purportedly used to provide various Christian mega-churches with financing for construction projects and other large expenses. Financial advisors preyed on the churches’ own congregations and other religious supporters in selling… Read More »
CONGRESS MULLS BILL TO IMPOSE FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS TAX
Congress is considering a bill that would impose a 3% tax on financial transactions in stocks and bonds at their market value, as well as on derivative contracts, options, puts, forward contracts and swaps at their purchase price. Under the proposal, the broker dealer that places the order for a stock or mutual fund… Read More »
Two South Floridians Charged With “Free Riding” Stock Sales Scam
The SEC has charged two South Floridians, posing as money managers, with an illegal scheme of selling shares of stock before the shares had been paid for. According to allegations filed in federal court in New Jersey, the SEC has charged Scott Kupersmith of Boca Raton and Frederick Chelly of Miami Beach of opening… Read More »
FINRA Fines Merrill Lynch $1 Million for Failing to Monitor Employees After Broker Found Running Ponzi Scheme
This week, FINRA announced that it has charged Merrill Lynch with failing to supervise one of its employees who successfully ran a Ponzi scheme using Merrill Lynch accounts. According to FINRA’s findings, Bruce Hammonds misrepresented to investors that his company, B&J Partnership, invested in oil contracts, S&P index futures, and international hedge funds. Hammonds… Read More »
West Palm Beach Attorneys Announce Payment of $3.1 Million Settlement
WEST PALM BEACH – The law firms of Rabin Kammerer Johnson and Bruce E. Reinhart, P.A. announce the payment of a $3.1 Million qui tam settlement, including attorney’s fees, that they and Department of Justice attorneys reached with Midtown Imaging, LLC (“Midtown”) and its former owners for claims alleged by two radiologists (the “Relators”)…. Read More »
SEC Receives Emergency Order to Stop Green-Product-Themed Ponzi Scheme
On October, 6, 2011, the SEC received an emergency court order to stop a Ponzi scheme that promised investors high returns on water-filtering natural stone pavers, but defrauded them of over $26 million during a four-year period. The SEC’s complaint states that, among others, convicted felon Eric Aronson bilked investors in PermaPave Companies, a… Read More »
UBS Trader Kweku Adoboli Loses $2.3 Billion in Unauthorized Trades
On September 15, Americans awoke to news that a rogue 31-year-old UBS trader, Kweku Adoboli, had sustained losses of over $2 billion for UBS’s investment banking arm through “unauthorized trades.” The bank immediately informed the press that no client money had been lost in the transactions. Adoboli worked on UBS’s “Delta One” desk, where… Read More »
SEC Sues Florida Men For Operating Ponzi Scheme That Defrauded Teachers and Retirees
On Aug. 29, 2011, the SEC charged two Florida men for running a Ponzi scheme set up as an alleged private equity fund that fraudulently raised over $22 million from more than 100 investors, including many Florida teachers or retirees. The SEC’s complaint alleges that James Davis Risher of Sanibel handled the fund’s trading… Read More »