Dblaine Capital LLC and David B. Welliver, Dblaine Capital’s owner, have been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with securities fraud. Welliver and his firm allegedly received loans that amounted to $4 million in a “quid pro quo” deal that was said to be undisclosed, in violation of their responsibilities and improper. Allegedly,…
Continue reading ›The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) released its annual report last month on enforcement actions to fight securities fraud. The report compares the data on securities fraud enforcement actions from 2010 to that of 2009. According to the report, the number of actions pursued in 2010 rose 51 percent, a major jump from 2009.…
Continue reading ›One of the most prominent ways fraudsters are currently targeting investors is through promissory note scams. According to Pat Huddleston, former Security and Exchange Commission enforcer and author of the book “The Vigilant Investor,” promissory note scams are “exploding” — in no small part due to the nature of the scam, which appears to be…
Continue reading ›Investor education is an important part of avoiding broker misconduct, so it is critical that investors have a general idea of how trades work. The following is a short summary of what occurs when a stockbroker executes a buy or sell order. Brokers usually have a choice of markets in which they can execute a…
Continue reading ›Justin Solomon of Florida has consented to the Security and Exchange Commission’s decision to fine him $275,000 for his part in a federal securities fraud lawsuit. The lawsuit involved a scheme in which overseas investors put money into Texas oil and gas projects that was then misused. Solomon did not confirm that he oversaw the…
Continue reading ›Citigroup settled charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and has agreed to pay $285 million to do so. According to the SEC, Citigroup defrauded investors by betting a toxic housing-related debt would fail, but selling the CDO to investors anyway. According to an article by Reuters, “The SEC said the bank’s Citigroup…
Continue reading ›Both Lehman Brothers and UBS have had more than their fair share of bad press over the last three years, but are they cut from the same cloth? A recent article in Forbes makes the argument that they are. September marked the three-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy and the arrest of a UBS trader…
Continue reading ›The investment community has often heard those now-familiar words: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is” when warning against stock broker fraud. Not only is this phrase only partially true, it’s dangerous. Investors who only watch out for the investments that are “too good to be true” are still vulnerable to…
Continue reading ›Kenneth Marsh was sentenced September 20 to 8 years in prison for his role in a “boiler-room” fraud. Marsh was the last of eighteen defendants to receive sentencing for a phony stock-tip scheme that resulted in the theft of $20 million from more than 5,000 investors. Between 2005 and 2010, Marsh, 44, acted as owner…
Continue reading ›The words “market volatility” seem to be used now more than ever. One recent report from The New York Times said, “Market Swings Are Becoming New Standard,” a scary sentiment for investors. One possible explanation for the increased volatility is the use of computerized high frequency automated trading, which accounts for 60 percent of the…
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