According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) press release, the SEC has charged Barbra Alexander along with two other executives at APS Funding with misappropriating $2.5 million in investor funds. It is alleged that Alexander, former president of APS Funding and former host of an internationally syndicated radio show, MoneyDots, lured investors using her…
DetailsLast month, FINRA, the organization that regulates the securities industry, ordered SunTrust Investment Services of Atlanta, Georgia to pay $1.44 million to resolve charges related to the unsuitable recommendations of unit investment trusts, closed-end funds and mutual fund investments sold to some of its elderly and disabled clients. Of that amount, $900,000 is a fine…
DetailsAccording to Investment News, the brokerage firm Securities America, Inc. and the Massachusetts Securities Division squared off over charges that the firm misled 60 investors in the state who bought $7.2 million in MedCap notes from the firm’s brokers. In total, 400 Securities America reps and advisors sold about $700 million of the private placement…
DetailsOn September 30th, the SEC announced that it charged two former State Street Bank and Trust Company employees, John P. Flannery and James H. Hopkins, with misleading investors about their exposure to sub-prime investments. The SEC alleged that Flannery and Hopkins marketed State Street’s Limited Duration Bond Fund as an “enhanced cash” investment strategy that…
DetailsEarlier this week, we reported that NASAA, an organization consisting of state securities regulators, listed leveraged and inverse ETFs as the top investment trap for retail investors. According to Investment News, the concerns are specific to leveraged and inverse ETFs, not ETFs that track mainstream stock indexes. Leveraged ETFs are designed to return a multiple…
DetailsPerhaps in response to criticism by the public and regulators that investors do not get a fair shake in arbitration when they sue investment firms, FINRA took steps to level the playing field for investors by proposing to eliminate the much maligned industry arbitrator from arbitration panels. This proposal could significantly improve investors’ chances of…
DetailsLast Sunday, as I drove home from my church in Marietta, Georgia, I thought about Bishop Eddie Long, a person who prior to last week I had never heard of much less ever thought about. My wife had told me that he was speaking to his congregation Sunday morning, the media would be in attendance,…
DetailsThis month FINRA announced that it took disciplinary action against Texas-based financial firm Cambridge Legacy Securities, LLC as well as the firm’s principals Oran Ben Carroll and Russell Kent Childs. Cambridge Legacy Securities, LLC was censured, fined $50,000 and ordered to pay $21,864.74 in restitution and interest to some of its retail customers. Carroll was…
DetailsLast month, the National Association Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), an organization comprised of current and former state securities regulators, released its annual list of investment pitfalls. Topping the list was Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). ETFs are complex investments that resemble mutual funds. However, many ETFs include hidden traps that may make these investments unsuitable for…
DetailsAccording to Business Insurance, the Chicago Police Department is being sued by a sergeant on the force for overtime that he asserts was earned while using his smart-phone while he was off the clock. The lawsuit is a proposed class action. Pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), nonexempt employees are to be compensated…
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