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North Carolina town, and many nationwide, still feeling effects of ZeekRewards $600 million Ponzi Scheme

April 2, 2013

Paul Burks, the mastermind behind ZeekRewards $600 million ponzi scheme is still negatively affecting many investors nationwide. Paul Burks attracted approximately 1 million investors into his ponzi scheme, which was headquartered in Lexington, North Carolina. The SEC closed ZeekRewards operations on August 17, 2012. They alleged that Burks was selling securities without a license and…

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Preet Bharara is the “New Sheriff of Wall Street”

April 2, 2013

With his recent arrest of SAC Capital Advisors’ Michael Steinberg, which with detailed in a recent blog, Preet Bharara, the current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has been dubbed the new sheriff of Wall Street. Mr. Bharara is a soft-spoken native of India who grew up in the suburbs of New…

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New Era for Financial Regulators in Britain Set to Begin

March 29, 2013

For the past 13 years Britain’s main financial regulator has been the Financial Services Authority. The agency’s tenure, however, is ending and Britain’s largest overhaul of its financial regulation is occurring as we speak. Starting in April 2013 the Financial Conduct Authority, a new consumer protect agency, will replace the Financial Services Authority. Furthermore, the…

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SAC Capital Advisor Arrested on Insider-Trading Charges

March 28, 2013

On March 22, 2013, we posted a blog entitled S.A.C. Affiliate Settles Largest Insider Trading Case with $600 million Settlement, that detailed how SAC agreed to pay more than $600 million to settle SEC charges that it participated in an insider trading scheme. However, this was not the end of SAC’s problems. On March 29,…

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SEC Settles Case with Morgan Keegan Ex-Directors

March 28, 2013

The SEC has agreed in principle with eight former directors of five Morgan Keegan mutual funds to settle a civil enforcement action brought in December 2012. In the December action, the SEC charged the directors with failing to exercise their responsibilities to ensure accurate valuations of the assets in mutual funds, which included holdings in…

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SEC Charges Hedge Fund Analyst, Trader, and Executive with Insider Trading

March 27, 2013

On March 26, 2013, the SEC charged a California-based hedge fund analyst, Matthew Teeple, with insider trading in advance of a merger of two technology companies Foundry Networks Inc. and Brocade Communication Systems Inc. Teeple received nonpublic information from his friend, Foundry’s Chief Information Officer David Riley. The SEC also charged Riley and another trader,…

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Heiress Files $8.5 Million Claim Against LPL for Unsuitable Trading and Fraudulent Scheme

March 26, 2013

On March 21, 2013, heiress of the Knott’s Berry Farm theme park, Maureen Sloan, filed a FINRA arbitration claim against LPL Financial and her former broker, Alberto Neira. The claim alleged that Neira stole $4.5 million from her through a fraudulent auto-financing scheme, called Silver Oak Leasing, and she lost an additional $4 million in…

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SEC Charges A. Belesis and G. Jarkesy with Hedge Fund Fraud

March 25, 2013

On March 22, 2013, the SEC charged Anastasios “Tommy” Belesis, owner of independent broker-dealer John Thomas Financial, and George R. Jarkesy Jr., a Houston-based hedge fund manager, with defrauding investors. The SEC alleged that, as part of the scheme, Belesis and Jarkesy launched two hedge funds that raised a total of $30 million from investors.…

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FINRA Seeks Rule Change That Would Increase the Release of Regulatory Complaints

March 25, 2013

On March 19, 2013, FINRA filed with the SEC a proposed rule change amending FINRA Rule 8313 (Release of Disciplinary Complaints, Decisions and Other Information) that seeks to make more information about disciplinary proceedings available to the public. FINRA specifically is seeking to make pending regulatory complaints “much” more visible to the public. FINRA disciplinary…

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S.A.C. Affiliate Settles Largest Insider Trading Case with $600 million Settlement

March 22, 2013

On March 15, 2013, the SEC announced that S.A.C. Capital Advisors affiliate hedge fund advisory firm, CR Intrinsic Investors, has agreed to pay more than $600 million to settle SEC charges that it participated in an insider trading scheme involving a clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s drug being jointly developed by two pharmaceutical companies. This…

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