Wall Street Investment Fraud Lawyer Blog

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) press release, the SEC and the Alabama Securities Commission (ASC) have charged Aura Financial Services, Inc. (Aura), a Birmingham, Alabama based broker-dealer, with churning of custormer accounts, “widespread supervisory failures” and other securities violations. The SEC and ASC believe that the actions of Aura, including several senior officers…

According to newsday.com, many Ponzi Scheme victims will now be able to write off their financial losses under their state itemized tax deductions.  New York will allow victims to claim such loses as a “theft” deduction.  New York State is merely following the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) lead.  In March, the IRS issued a statement saying that…

According to Richard Burnett of the Orlando Sentinel, investment fraud is on the rise in Florida. Regulators in Florida say that the number of complaints in Florida about suspicious investment activity has more than doubled. Last year alone regulators at the state Office of Financial Regulation has received 425 complaints.  So, far this year regulators have received…

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Richard Karp, a trader from Fort Myers, Florida, with fraud relating to a fake press release the SEC says he issued in an effort to manipulate a company’s stock price. Karp allegedly released a false announcement from WCI Communities, Inc. to the media, which in turn caused the company’s stock price to…

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has issued an “investor alert” warning individuals to be wary of free seminars boasting a free meal. Investors are frequently being invited to fancy restaurants with the promise of an expensive meal at no cost where they are given a free seminar that “educates” them about investing or managing money during…

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that financial advisors are turning back time and returning to the old ways of their business. As a result of economic downturn most client assets have diminished by 20%-50%, which produces a similar drop in the earnings of those advisors that are fee-based. Brokers are now moving their clients from fee-based…

According to today’s Wall Street Journal in an article entitled Brokers Abandon Wall Street, the number of brokers leaving brokerage firms is on the rise due to slumping markets and shrinking fees.  In April alone, 2,800 brokers left the securities industry.  At this pace, 35,000 brokers will exit the industry by year end.  That would be record by a…

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…

Multiple class action and individual lawsuits filed by investors recently have been filed because of the precipitous collapse of Oppenheimer’s Champion Income Fund (OCHCX). This bond fund was down approximately 82% in value at the end of 2008.  Other similar bond funds were down only approximately 30%.  This enormous difference can be attributed to the Oppenheimer Champion Income Fund…

According to the Wall Street Journal today, Massachusetts securities regulators have begun an investigation into whether State Street Corp. misled pension funds investors by falsely repesenting that some its bonds funds were low risk vehicles even though they were actually invested in volatile mortgage-backed securities. State Street is one of the largest managers of index funds. It is currently facing several…