Articles Posted in SEC

Securities arbitration lawyers are currently investigating possible claims on behalf of investors who suffered losses as a result of their purchases of Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. through a full-service brokerage firm. Inland American is the largest non-traded REIT in the industry. Recently, it has been reported that Inland American is under investigation by…

ETFs (exchange traded funds) and ETNs (exchange traded notes) have recently gained a significant amount of attention in the securities industry. Securities fraud attorneys have been filing arbitration claims on behalf of investors who were unsuitably recommended ETFs or ETNs and suffered significant losses as a result. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has started…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently posted an alert on its website which warns investors about scams that offer shares of popular tech companies, like Facebook and Twitter, that have not yet been released to the public. According to investment fraud lawyers, while some pre-IPO shares offerings are legitimate, and are not uncommon, they…

According to investment fraud lawyers, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) will bring enforcement cases related to the selling of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that were not appropriate for customers, against certain brokerages. Bradley Bennett, FINRA’s enforcement chief, said this month that the cases will involve leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds, and the unsuitable sales of…

On April 10, 2012, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its decision to enjoin Timothy Page of Malibu, Calif., Ryan Reynolds of Dallas, Phillip Offill Jr. of Dallas, Steven Fischer of Bonita Springs, Fla., Page Properties LP, RSMR Capital Group Inc. and ATN Enterprises LLC from violating Section 5 of the Securities…

According to an announcement on April 12, 2012, from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Goldman Sachs & Co. has been fined $22 million for “failing to supervise equity research analyst communications with traders and clients and for failing to adequately monitor trading in advance of published research changes to detect and prevent possible information…

With promissory note scams on the rise, investors need to know both how to spot them and when they need to contact a stock fraud lawyer if they suspect fraud has occurred. Promissory notes are a type of debt sometimes used by companies in order to raise money. Through the note, the company promises to…

On January 27, 2012, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued an Investor Alert warning investors of fraudsters compromising investor email accounts to send trading instructions as a way to commit fraud. According to FINRA, fraudsters will use the email account to gain access to information that they can then use to request wire transfers…

Earlier this month, a registration statement was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that The Carlyle Group L.P. shareholder disputes must be settled in securities arbitration proceedings conducted in Delaware. On January 10, 2012, the amended registration statement was filed as part of the company’s plan to raise a public offering this spring…

A recent study published in Accounting Review explored whether firms that use “overly optimistic” language in their disclosures are more likely to be sued by investors. While it is unreasonable to expect a firm to deliberately use language that will cost them business, disclosures should always be grounded in reality — and there is a…