FINRA Sanctions Ten Former Global Arena Representatives
During a 2014 onsite exam, FINRA found numerous securities violations at Global Arena Capital Corp., including misleading sales pitches, customer account churning, as well as other business misconduct. The regulatory authority has banned seven former registered representatives from the industry, suspended an eighth, and barred two former branch managers from serving in a principal capacity. […]
Texas Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Operator Pleads Guilty To Securities Fraud
In a landmark case that marked the intersection of cryptocurrency and traditional securities law, Trendon Shavers of McKinney, Texas, pleaded guilty to securities fraud for operating a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme using Bitcoin. Known as the founder of Bitcoin Savings & Trust (BS&T), Shavers promised investors consistent, high-yield returns, misleading many into believing they were part […]
Adviser Loses Job Following Weekend Client Raid
An arbitration has been filed accusing Oppenheimer & Co. of overstepping its bounds during a three day weekend earlier in the summer during which it mounted a massive client raid. Industry experts claim that this is fairly common. However, details of the raids rarely become public, at least in part because of an industry agreement designed […]
FINRA August 2015 Disciplinary Actions: Part IV
Mark Andrew Bullivant of Fort Myers, Florida submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent that banned him from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity. FINRA found that Bullivant refused to appear for FINRA-requested on-the-record testimony pertaining to an investigation into whether he had converted customer funds. Terry Wayne Burcin of Midlothian, Virgina […]
FINRA August 2015 Disciplinary Actions: Part III
Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. of St. Louis, Missouri submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent that censured the firm and fined it $10,000. FINRA found that it failed to report the right trade execution time for transactions in TRACE-eligible securitized products to TRACE and failed to show the right execution time on […]
FINRA August 2015 Disciplinary Actions: Part II
Newbridge Securities Corporation of Fort Lauderdale, Florida submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent that censured the firm, fined it $22,500, and mandated that it change its written supervisory procedures. According to FINRA’s findings, Newbridge failed to report information pertaining to municipal securities transactions for clients to a real-time transaction reporting system within fifteen minutes […]
FINRA August 2015 Disciplinary Actions: Part I
Dempsey Lord Smith, LLC and Jerry Eskel Dempsey, Jr. of Rome, Georgia submitted a letter of acceptance, waiver and consent (“AWC”) in which the firm was censured and fined $10,000. Dempsey is joint and severally liable for half of that with the firm. Similarly, Dempsey was fined $10,000, half of which the firm is joint […]
SEC Alleges California Men Ran Religious Scam
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced fraud charges and an asset freeze to stop a continuing real estate investment scheme operated by three California businessmen, who allegedly stole investor funds after guaranteeing them “indestructible wealth.” The SEC claims that Paul Ricky Mata, David Kayatta, and Mario Pincheira took investor cash to use as their own […]
New York Global Group CEO Charged With Securities Fraud
Benjamin Wey, a well-known Wall Street financier who assisted many Chinese companies in accessing U.S. markets through reverse mergers, was arrested this week and charged with altering the companies’ shares to allegedly earn himself tens of millions of dollars in illicit gains. Wey, the CEO of New York Global Group, now has criminal and civil cases against […]
Alabama Man Sentenced In Securities Fraud Case
Kevin Jerome Brown of Hoover, Alabama is looking at a long probation sentence after pleading guilty to securities fraud, according to authorities. Brown pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud by employing a device, scheme, or artifice to defraud and one count of acting as an unregistered securities agent in Shelby County Circuit Court […]