FINRA Enforcement Actions: Month in Review
(Jun 2014)
MAY 2014 SELECTED FINRA ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
FIRMS FINED
ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago LLC (CRD #14020, Chicago, Illinois)
ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago LLC consented to a censure and $95,000 fine for allegedly failing "to report short interest positions to the New York Stock Exchange and FINRA on certain settlement dates, and submitt[ing] to FINRA an inaccurate short-interest position report." FINRA found that the firm's supervisory system did not provide for supervision reasonably designed to achieve...
FINRA Enforcement Actions: Month in Review
(May 2014)
APRIL 2014 SELECTED FINRA ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
FIRMS FINED
The Huntington Investment Company (CRD #16986, Columbus, Ohio)
The Huntington Investment Company consented to a $25,000 fine and censure. The firm consented to an entry of "findings that it failed to provide notice to the MSRB via the Electronic Municipal Market Access System (EMMA) that no preliminary official statements or official statements were to be prepared for bond anticipation note offerings in which the firm participated."...
Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - May 16th, 2014
(May 2014)
SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
SEC Charges Unregistered Securities Salesman for Selling Millions of Dollars in Oil-And-Gas Investments
May 15, 2014, (Litigation Release No. 22993)
According to the complaint, Behrooz Sarafraz "acted as the primary salesman on behalf of TVC Opus I Drilling Program LP and Tri-Valley Corporation" and received over $16 million in sales commissions while failing to be registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer. Sarafraz has agreed to a final judgment that enjoins...
Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - May 9th, 2014
(May 2014)
SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
SEC Charges Three Friends and Business Associates of Former Chairman of Home Diagnostics, Inc., in Insider Trading Scheme
May 7, 2014, (Litigation Release No. 22987)
John Campani, John Mullin, and Alan Posner have all been charged with trading on insider information concerning Nipro Corporation's acquisition of Home Diagnostics, Inc for combined profits of "more than $105,000." The defendants were allegedly tipped this information by former Chairman of the Board at...
Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - May 2nd, 2014
(May 2014)
SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
SEC Charges Barry R. Bekkedam with Defrauding Investment Advisory Clients in Connection with Multimillion Dollar Rothstein Ponzi Scheme
April 30, 2014, (Litigation Release No. 22983)
According to the complaint, Barry R. Bekkedam, former SEC-registered investment advisor and former owner, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Ballamor Capital Management, LLC, "fraudulently induced, or assisted in inducing, his advisory clients and others to invest approximately...
Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - April 25th, 2014
(Apr 2014)
SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
SEC Files Action Against Former Stock Promoter Now in Prison for Lying to SEC Investigators
April 23, 2014, (Litigation Release No. 22977)
According to the complaint, Robert J. Vitale and Realty Acquisitions & Trust, Inc. "fraudulently raised at least $8.7 million from investors through four real estate securities offerings" by making "materially false and misleading statements and omissions concerning, among other things, the credentials and experience of Vitale...
This is How We Determined Investors Lost $27.7 Billion Investing in Non-Traded REITs
(Apr 2014)
Earlier this week we posted the summary results of our investigation into the performance of 27 non-traded REITs which had had a liquidity event by December 31, 2013. We found that investors are $27.7 billion worse as a result of investing in these 27 REITs rather than investing in a diversified portfolio of traded REITs. The post titled "Retail Investors Have Lost at Least $27.7 billion as a Result of Non-Traded REITs" is available on our blog.
Figuring out this $27.7 billion shortfall...
Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - April 18th, 2014
(Apr 2014)
SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
Federal Prosecutors Charge Massachusetts Resident with Criminal Contempt Based On Violations of Court Orders Obtained by the SEC
April 16, 2014, (Litigation Release No. 22973)
Last week, Steven Palladino was charged with 25 counts of criminal contempt "based on his repeated violations of Court orders obtained by the Commission in its civil action against Palladino and his...company, Viking Financial Group, Inc." The SEC's 2011 complaint alleged that the defendants...
Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - April 11th, 2014
(Apr 2014)
SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
SEC Charges Carter's, Inc.'s Former Vice-President of Operations with Insider Trading and Tipping
April 10, 2014, (Litigation Release No. 22970)
Richard T. Posey,former Vice-President of Carter's, Inc., has been charged with trading "based on inside information that he possessed as a result of his position at Carter's, and...tip[ping] material nonpublic information to the company's former Vice-President and Director of Investor Relations, Eric M. Martin." Posey...
Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - April 4th, 2014
(Apr 2014)
SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
SEC Charges Two Friends with Insider Trading Ahead of Impending Acquisition Announcement
April 3, 2014, (Litigation Release No. 22965)
According to the complaint, Walter D. Wagner and Alexander J. Osborn traded on insider information they learned from investment banker, John W. Femenia, "about the impending acquisition of The Shaw Group Inc." Wagner has agreed to a settle the charges by "disgorging his ill-gotten gains plus interest, with any additional financial...
