Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two individuals in a fake day-trading scheme targeting inexperienced investors.
According to the SEC’s press release, the two men in question scammed investors out of more than $1.4 million through the operation of a false day-trading investment firm.
Ever wonder about how customer disputes are resolved between investors and broker-dealers?
Is a lawsuit necessary?
Do you need to hire a lawyer?
Each month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) publishes a complaint report outlining and highlighting volume and percentage of consumers’ reported financial complaints.
The CFPB is an agency tasked with providing consumers with financial protection and empowerment by improving existing consumer protection rules, enforcing rules and providing tools and resources for consumers.
Last week, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) handed out a $650,000 fine to a broker-dealer in the Lincoln Financial Network. The industry watchdog group found that the independent broker-dealer in Lincoln Financial’s network allowed thousands of customers’ data to be exposed to foreign hackers.
Similarly FINRA also found that Lincoln Financial Securities Corp. failed to ensure the security of their customers’ consolidated reports.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that investors should be on the lookout for fraudulent claims using Forms 4.
A Form 4 is filed when investment insiders (officers, directors and anyone holding 10% or more in company securities) execute transactions. A Form 4, which must be filed within two days following a transaction, serves to inform the public of the insider’s transactions in company stock and other securities.
Apparently, scammers and fraudsters are posing as brokers and providing false Forms 4 and other official documentation to investors in order to sell them fake shares. By using forms that appear to be sent from the SEC and other regulatory agencies, scammers seek to legitimize fraudulent claims.
You have a marketable skill or talent and want to start your own business. You have heard the term “LLC” before and you know it has something to do with small-business. You might even know that LLC stands for limited-liability company, but what exactly does that mean?
There are a lot of questions would-be entrepreneurs may have about LLCs. What are they? Why are they needed? Should I form one?
Some of the nation’s top banks are facing another bad week, legally and financially as they are subjected to increased scrutiny and demand for reparations from federal regulators.
Wells Fargo faces a continued inquest into the extent of its accounts fraud scandal as regional and municipal governments, including Hillsborough County, look further into their interests with the banking giant.
The Federal Reserve has decided to leave interest rates alone for the foreseeable future, according to a report from Reuters. Despite the fact that a target rate-hike was announced last December, the Fed has deferred any increases as part of a long-term plan to reignite the U.S. economy.
President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, Neel Kashkari, stated that “the U.S. economy has room to grow before it overheats”.
This is an update to a previously posted article – “Wells Fargo Pays Out $190 in Financial Fraud Claim”. Read the full story here.
In the wake of the massive fraud scandal stemming from a sales incentives initiative, Wells Fargo as announced that it is ending the company-wide sales product goals.
The banking giant, ordered to pay $190 million in damages and fines earlier this month, stated that as of Jan. 1, 2017 it would eliminate product sales goals. The decision is an effort by the bank to recoup customer faith and public standing.
Raymond James & Associates along with a Milwaukee-based investment firm, Robert W. Baird & Co. reached a settlement over penalties regarding wrap fee compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week.
The SEC had charged the long established St. Petersburg, FL-based investment firm with violating Section 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-7 by failing to comply with stated regulations concerning wrap fees. Raymond James agreed to pay $600,000 in penalties following the settlement, in accordance with SEC orders.
The SEC’s investigation found that Raymond James had failed to establish policies and procedures regarding what commissions are charged to clients when sub-adviser trade their investments with broker-dealers outside wrap fee programs. Wrap fees are comprehensive, straight-forward charges levied by an adviser to a client in exchange for bundled investment services.
Securities Fraud Lawyers Blog