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Our experts frequently write blog posts about the findings of the research we are conducting.

Displaying 31-40 out of 128 results for "Muni Markup Week".

Trouble in Paradise: UBS Puerto Rico Bond Fund Investors Hit Hard

(Oct 2013)

Despite a 2012 settlement agreement with the SEC, UBS Puerto Rico continues to face new allegations regarding its sales practices of tax-advantaged closed-end funds. While UBS Puerto Rico did not admit wrongdoing when it settled with the SEC, an SEC statement on the matter said "UBS Puerto Rico denied its closed-end fund customers [...] accurate price and liquidity information, and a trading desk that did not advantage UBS's trades over those of its customers." At the time of the SEC...

Peligro en la Isla del Encanto: Inversionistas de UBS Puerto Rico Sufren Cuantiosas Pérdidas

(Oct 2013)

Hace más de un año, la Comisión de Valores y Bolsa de los Estados Unidos (SEC, por sus siglas en inglés) penalizó a la unidad puertorriqueña de UBS. La SEC acusó a UBS Puerto Rico (UBS PR) de encubrir la crisis de liquidez que afectaba a un grupo de sus fondos llamados Fondos de Puerto Rico. La investigación por parte de la SEC resultó en un acuerdo extrajudicial mediante el cual UBS PR se comprometió a pagar $26.6 millones de dólares a los inversionistas afectados. Hoy en día, UBS PR se...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review (Part II) - October 4th, 2013

(Oct 2013)

SEC Obtains Asset Freeze and Other Emergency Relief in Ponzi Scheme Targeting Investors in Japan
October 3, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22832)
The SEC was granted a temporary restraining order, asset freeze and other emergency relief againstEdwin Yoshihiro Fujinaga and his company MRI International, Inc.. Fujinaga allegedly raised more than $800 million from investors through MRI, an allegedly "fraudulent Ponzi scheme designed to misappropriate money from investors. "The defendants...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review (Part I) - October 4th, 2013

(Oct 2013)

SEC Files Fraud Charges Against Universal Travel Group, Its Former CEO and Chair, Jiangping Jiang, and Its Former Director, Secretary and Interim CFO, Jing Xie
September 27, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22823)
The SEC announced the filing of "fraud and related charges against Universal Travel Group, a China-based travel services company, its former CEO and Chair, Jiangping Jiang, and its former Director, Secretary and Interim CFO, Jing Xie." According to the SEC, Jiang and Xie "failed to...

SEC Awards More Than $14 Million to Whistleblower

(Oct 2013)

Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that an anonymous whistleblower has been awarded over $14 million for the information provided to the SEC that resulted in an expedited enforcement action. This is the third, and by far the largest, award granted by the SEC's Office of the Whistleblower since it was established by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2011.¹
Although the announcement does not specifically mention which enforcement action lead to the award, we can...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 27th, 2013

(Sep 2013)

SEC Charges CEO of Video Game Company and Purported Consultant in Revenue Inflation Scheme
September 25, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22813)
According to the complaint , in 2009 Troy Lyndon, CEO and CFO of Left Behind Games Inc, and his friend, Ronald Zaucha, schemed to "falsely inflate the company's revenue by nearly 1,300 percent in a one-year period through sham circular transactions." Left Behind Games "was founded in 2001 and touted itself as 'the only publicly-traded exclusive publisher...

SEC Proposes Rule for "Pay Ratio" Disclosure

(Sep 2013)

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)released a rule proposalthat would require "public companies to disclose the ratio of the compensation of its chief executive officer (CEO) to the median compensation of its employees." The proposed rule gives companies flexibility with respect to the methodology used to calculate the pay ratio. This flexibility allows for a variety of approaches that are appropriate for each company's size and structure.

Although the SEC does not specify...

SEC Approves Municipal Adviser Registration Requirement

(Sep 2013)

Late last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt rules requiring municipal advisors to register with the commission if the advisor "provides advice on the issuance of municipal securities or about certain 'investment strategies' or municipal derivatives." This permanent registration requirement was required by Dodd-Frank (Section 975) and replaces the temporary registration requirement previously implemented by the SEC.

The registration requirement is meant to...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 20th, 2013

(Sep 2013)

Court Enters Final Judgment by Consent Against SEC Defendant Roland Kaufmann
September 19, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22802)
Yesterday the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against Roland Kaufman. The judgment bars Kaufman from participating in penny stock offerings and from serving as a director or officer of a public company. The judgment stems from a July 2012 SEC complaint that allegedAxius, Inc., Jean-Pierre Neuhaus, and Roland Kaufmann...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 13th, 2013

(Sep 2013)

SEC Charges Atlanta-Based Investment Adviser Representative with Securities Fraud
September 12, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22797)
Earlier this week, the SEC chargedPaul Marshall, Bridge Securities, LLC, Bridge Equity, Inc. and FOGFuels, Inc. with misappropriation of client funds as well as violations of Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC alleges that over the past two years, Marshall has misappropriated "at least $2...

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