Articles Posted in SEC Press Releases

According to a press release, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Michael T. Rand, the former chief accounting officer of Beazer Homes, USA, Inc., with conducting a fraudulent earnings management scheme. It is alleged that this scheme took place over a period of years and that Rand mislead both internal Beazer accountants and…

It is alleged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Provident Royalties, LLC, a Dallas, Texas based company owned and controlled by Paul R. Melbye, Brendan Couglin, and Henry Harrison, has “made a series of fraudulent securities offerings involving oil and gas assets through 21 affiliated entities to more than 7,700 investors throughout the United States.”…

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Prime Capital Services (PCS), a New York-Based Firm, has been charged with luring Florida senior citizens through free-lunch seminars to buy variable annuities which were unsuitable for these individuals. The SEC states that PCS is a registered broker-dealer that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gilman Ciocia, Inc. (G &…

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal entitled SEC Takes On Target-Date Funds, discusses the SEC’s efforts to improve disclosures made in these popular investments. What are Target-Date Funds? Like most mutual funds, Target-Date Funds invest in a mix stocks and fixed income investments.  What makes these mutual funds different is that the percentage of asset classes change over…

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the SEC has charged seven church leaders, in Queens, New York, for orchestrating an investment fraud scheme that took advantage of elderly church members.  It is alleged that the elderly investors were defrauded of more than $12 million.  The SEC says that the seven church leaders would make false…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained a court order freezing the assets of an investment firm fraudulently claiming that Warren Buffett, the well known billionaire investor, was the firm’s honorary chairman, according to the Los Angeles Times.  It is alleged that International Realty Holdings Inc. (IRH), of Palmdale, California, and its operators, Leticia Isabel Medrano and Ottoniel…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a warning to investors and financial service firms that there are con-artists claiming to be SEC employees seeking sensitive information to use to defraud. These fraudsters have tricked individuals into revealing private information and, in some cases, into sending money and other assets to the fraudster. Further, these con-artists have impersonated…