Author Archives: FLSecurities
Floridian Pays Nearly $2.9 Million in Restitution Following Mail Fraud
Lawrence William Dunning, of Highland Beach, has been ordered by an Arizona federal court to pay approximately $2.9 million in restitution for his role in a Ponzi scheme, to be followed by three years of supervised release for mail fraud. Three of Dunning’s co-defendants have already been sentenced for terms ranging from 60 days… Read More »
SEC Charges Two Florida Companies and Their CEOs for Pump-and-Dump Schemes
On September 30, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged two Florida companies and their CEOs for engaging in two separate pump-and-dump schemes involving the issuance of misleading press releases hyping the companies while the respective CEOs sold their stock for major gains. The SEC claims that Quri Resources, Inc. and Jaime Santiago Gomez,… Read More »
FINRA Proposes All-Public Arbitration Panels For Customer Disputes
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has proposed giving investors filing arbitration claims the option of having an all-public arbitration panel, significantly increasing investor choice in the FINRA arbitration program. The proposal will be filed next month for approval with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to FINRA’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,… Read More »
Financial Advisor to NFL Players Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud
A financial advisor who defrauded investors, including quarterback Michael Vick among other NFL players, plead guilty to securities fraud in Nebraska. Mary Wong’s Ponzi scheme involved convincing investors they were investing in real estate across Arizona, Tennessee and Michigan, as well as Gallup bonds. Prosecutors claim many of the investments did not exist. The… Read More »
Three South Floridians Arrested for Investment Scheme Targeting Haitians
Irma Jeudy, Alix Charles, and Albertha Frederic were arrested last Friday for their involvement in an investment fraud, stemming from a Ponzi scheme targeting Haitian Americans. Each defendant faces a possible prison sentence up to 90 years, and the state attorney’s office did not rule out the possibility of additional arrests. The defendants, advertising… Read More »
Investors Seek Uniform Fiduciary Duty Rules
Though the Securities and Exchange Commission have yet to set a universal standard of care for brokers and investment advisers, one thing is certain: Investors want a single standard. Out of 1,319 investors polled, over 90% of investors want a broker and investment adviser to have and follow the same fiduciary duty and investor… Read More »
Broker Who Ran $66 Million Ponzi Scheme Gets Probation
A New York man received 5 years probation for a Ponzi Scheme involving $66 million that his investors thought was invested in the foreign-exchange market, where the money was spent on art and an Aston Martin. Bradley Eisner was sentenced in Brooklyn, New York. He pleaded guilty in July 2008 after turning himself in… Read More »
Miami Businessman Pleads Guilty to $880 Million Ponzi Scheme
Nevin Shapiro, the former owner of Capitol Investments USA Inc. and a booster of University of Miami athletics, pleaded guilty yesterday to running an $880 million Ponzi scheme. Shapiro, 41, of Miami Beach, Florida, admitted in federal court that he defrauded more than 50 investors between $50 million to $100 million in his bogus… Read More »
Advisor Invested in Two Ponzi Schemes, Now Charged By SEC
Neil Greenberg, an investment advisor in Boulder, Co., invested $174 million of his clients’ money in funds run by Ponzi schemers Bernie Madoff and Tom Petters. Now, Greenberg is facing repercussions of his own after being charged by the SEC for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. No redemptions have been allowed on Greenberg’s… Read More »
International Ponzi Schemer Now Being Investigated in Orlando
David Smith, accused of perpetrating a $200 million Ponzi scheme, could now face up to 23 criminal counts in Orlando as a result of his scheme. Smith, a Jamaican banker, is also facing criminal charges in the Turks & Caicos. Smith convinced investors to put their money into his various companies, including Olint Corp.,… Read More »