Articles Posted in Securities Fraud

Financial advisers are bound by their fiduciary duty. Put simply, fiduciary duty is when one party (in this case, the financial adviser) must, by law, act in the best interest of another party (in this case, the client). Financial advisors have a legal obligation to act in the best interest of their client as they…

Court proceedings concluded this month for 15 investors who fell victim to stockbroker fraud in which Lawrence E. Chia, a former Michigan stockbroker, stole around $2 million by “investing” their money in “Crystal Sky” and then mailing falsified subscription statements. “Crystal Sky” was the name Chia gave to his fake bond fund and all mailed…

The SEC’s new whistleblower office, which officially opened August 12, hopes to have a significant effect on corporate and stock broker fraud. Under this new program, cash awards will be issued to corporate employees who report fraud to the SEC in order to expose corporate crime. Individuals who report fraud under this program could receive…

Janney Montgomery Scott, a broker-dealer from Philadelphia, and his firm, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, will pay $850,000 in his settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for not taking proper precautions to prevent insider trading. According to securities regulators, Janney didn’t establish proper policies and, in some cases, didn’t enforce what policies were in place,…

Jennifer Kim, an ex-Morgan Stanley trader, will pay $25,000 and is barred from broker-dealer association for three years in her settlement with the SEC regarding its claim that she concealed trades and falsified books. The firm’s risk limits were exceeded by the proprietary trades she concealed, intending to cancel the swap orders almost immediately. This…

$1 million is being distributed to victims of an investment scam by federal authorities. Bryan Keith Noel and Alexander Klosek of North Carolina were charged in 2009 with multiple crimes, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. All crimes were connected to Noel’s fraudulent investment business. In March 2010, Noel…