Merrill Lynch recently agreed to pay a $10 million fine to settle civil securities fraud charges by regulators who accused the firm of misusing customers’ order data to make trades for its own account and for failing to disclose trading fees. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement with Merrill Lynch, which was acquired [...]
According to the New York Post, in May 2010, FINRA accused Long Island brokerage firm David Lerner Associates and its head trader, William Mason, of charging customers “excessive” markups on normally safe municipal bonds and high-grade mortgage-backed securities. According to the FINRA complaint, David Lerner & Associates between 2005 and 2007 charged brokerage customers, many [...]
The White Law Group is currently investigating securities fraud claims against New York based broker‐dealer E-Trade Securities, LLC (“E-Trade”) involving auction rate securities. Auction rate securities are long‐term bonds that rely on the successful operation of a periodic auction for short‐term liquidity. The White Law Group is currently reviewing several cases throughout the country wherein [...]
Established in 1832, Janney Montgomery Scott is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based FINRA broker-dealer. Janney Montgomery Scott has from time to time drawn the attention of securities regulators, including FINRA, as a result of its trading practices and supervisory systems. Market Timing Back in 2005, FINRA (then the NASD) announced that it had fined Janney Montgomery [...]
The White Law Group is investigating possible securities fraud claims involving retained asset accounts. Retained asset accounts are facing growing scrutiny, with regulators calling into question the disclosure policies of insurance companies that market and sell the products to clients. Retained-asset accounts are products that allow insurers to profit from beneficiary death benefits by placing the [...]
The White Law Group is investigating possible securities fraud claims involving the Oppenheimer Champion Income Fund (OCHBX, OPCHX and OCHCX) and the Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund (OPIGX). Although marketed to investors as conservative investments, the Champion Fund and Core Bond Fund were extremely risky ventures, investing in illiquid derivatives and high risk credit default swaps. [...]
FINRA recently announced that Andrew Mark Ruby, a former Morgan Stanley financial advisor in Hartsdale, New york, has been barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Ruby consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that from about February 2005 through March 2009, [...]
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm. The White Law Group has its offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida because of the obvious benefits of being located so close to the FINRA Dispute Resolutions offices in those cities (FINRA’s Southeast headquarters [...]
FINRA recently announced that Michael Lewis Axel, formerly of Tripp & Co., Inc. in New York City , has been barred from association with any FINRA member firm in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Axel consented to the described sanction and to findings that he misappropriated at least $624,000 from customers of [...]
FINRA (formerly the NASD) recently announced that BGC Financial, L.P. (a FINRA broker-dealer based in New York City ) was censured and fined $10,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, BGC Financial consented to the entry of findings that it failed, within 90 seconds after execution, to transmit last sale reports of transactions in designated [...]