Wall Street Investment Fraud Lawyer Blog

Fortune magazine reports that investors have lost $1.78 Trillion so far this year!  Investors should review the asset allocation of their portfolios and determine whether or not it is appropriate given their risk tolerance, investment objective and time horizon.  Financial advisors and their firms have a duty to their clients to make suitable investment recommendations…

On December 15, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission commenced an action in federal district court in the Southern District of New York against Edward Durante for fraud in the sale of millions of dollars of VGTel stock to numerous of investors.  On January 6, 2016, the SEC filed an Amended Complaint naming Abida Khan, Larry Werbel, Christopher Cervino,…

On September 29, 2015, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) released for public comment a proposed model to help broker-dealers, investment firms, and employees to better recognize if a senior or other vulnerable adult is being financially exploited. Judith Shaw, the NASAA President and Maine Securities Administrator, said, “Working together we can and will…

Fraud is always a danger in the world of investment advisers. In a recent example of this, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced fraud charges against Arthur F. Jacob, age 56, and his firm, Innovative Business Solutions LLC (“IBS”) of Florida.  Jacob is a disbarred attorney and a Certified Public Accountant whose history includes misappropriation of client…

On June 29, 2015 the Securities and Exchange Commission announced fraud charges against Wisconsin-based investment advisory firm and owner Mark P. Welhouse of Welhouse and Associates Inc. The firm and owner are being charged with improperly allocating certain options trades that appreciated in value to personal and business accounts, while allocating other trades that depreciated…

In the November 2015 issue of Consumer Reports, light is shed on the fact that roughly 1 in 20 senior adults claim to have been financially abused and why seniors seem to be among the most frequent targets of fraudsters. These perpetrators disguise themselves as government officials such as the FBI or the IRS and claim…

On September 22, 2015 the North American Securities Administrators Association released their Annual Enforcement Report. The study was conducted from 49 jurisdictions throughout the United States and showed that twenty-five percent of enforcements actions taken in 2014 occurred where seniors were the victims. According to NASAA President and Washington Securities Director William Beatty, “This number…

F-Squared Investments, Inc., a SEC registered investment adviser firm, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in July 2015 after paying $35 million and admitting wrongdoing to settle SEC charges that it falsified its advertised track record of investment performance, giving investors the false impression that its performance results were significantly better than they really were.…

The Puerto Rican bond default is a “slow motion train wreck” that has been occurring now for several years with Puerto Rico having publicly announced its intention not to pay its bond debt. Yet half of U.S. municipal bond mutual funds hold Puerto Rican bond debt, and the exposure of the top ten such mutual…

Las Vegas-based MRI International Inc.’s former president/chief executive Edwin Fujinaga, Asia-Pacific executive vice president Junzo Suzuki, and general manager of Japan operations Paul Suzuki, have all been indicted on eight counts of mail fraud and nine counts of wire fraud in connection with a Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of victims, according to a Fox…