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

Displaying 91-100 out of 215 results for "Muni Arb".

Study on Expungements Reveals Gap in Investor Protection

(Oct 2013)

We often encourage investors to visit the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) BrokerCheck system to check the record of their broker. The broker's record contains information about their qualifications, employment and complaint history. The completeness of the information contained within the complaint history has recently been called into question by the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA).

Last week, PIABA released a study of over 1,600 arbitration cases filed...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - October 18th, 2013

(Oct 2013)

Court Enters Final Judgment by Consent Against Defendant Ronald Baldwin, Jr.
October 17, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22847)
A final judgment was entered against Ronald Baldwin, Jr., former CFO of JBI, Inc., for his alleged involvement in "a scheme to commit securities and accounting fraud in 2009." Previously, the SEC charged JBI, Inc. and its CEO, John Bordynuik for their alleged involvement in the scheme. Baldwin consented to the judgment which permanently enjoins him from future...

Fidelity to Launch Mutual Fund Based on Hedge Fund Strategy

(Oct 2013)

We see it again and again: complex investment strategies packaged into traditionally conservative investments. We have seen corporate debt linked to exotic derivatives positions (structured products), exchange-traded products linked tocomplex futures positions (commodities and volatility ETPs), variable annuities linked to options strategies (structured product based variable annuities), and even certificates of deposit with complex payoff structures (structured CDs). Now, we are seeing more...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - October 11th, 2013

(Oct 2013)

Previously Unknown Insider Traders in Heinz Agree to $5 Million Settlement
October 10, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22841)
According to the complaint, Rodrigo Terpins traded on nonpublic information concerning H.J. Heinz that he learned from his brother, Michel Terpins. Rodrigo Terpins made his trades through "a Cayman Islands-based entity named Alpine Swift that holds assets for one of their family members." The Terpins brothers and Alpine Swift, which was named as a relief defendant, have...

FINRA May Require Brokers to Carry Arbitration Insurance

(Oct 2013)

When investors suffer damages at the handsof brokers, they often turn to FINRA arbitration rather than suing in state or federal court. FINRA arbitrations are designed to "assist in the resolution of monetary and business disputes between and among investors, brokerage firms and individual brokers," and sometimes result in a monetary award. However, one problem with FINRA awards is that some brokers are unable to pay, especially brokers with small under-capitalized firms who ran fraudulent...

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 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...

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