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MassMutual Settles 401(k) Suit For $31M

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has agreed to a nearly $31 million settlement in an excessive-fee lawsuit regarding the company's 401(k) retirement plan. By doing so, MassMutual joins Fidelity Investments and Ameriprise Financial in settling similar suits. Fidelity and Ameriprise settled their 401(k) suits for $12 million and $27.5 million respectively. The class-action case involved two of MassMutual's retirement plans: the $2.2 billion Thrift Plan and the $200 million Agent Pension Plan, in which the company served as both record keeper and investment manager. The class consists of current and former plan participants. They allege that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty under ERISA by causing unreasonable administrative fees to be charged to the plans, offering high-cost and poor-performing investments, and offering a fixed-income option that was unduly risky and expensive. The parties filed a motion seeking preliminary approval of the settlement agreement, which includes $30.9 million payment by MassMutual as well as certain non-monetary provisions meant to benefit plan [...]

By |June 17th, 2016|Press Releases & News|
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Trader Accused Of $23M Investor Fraud

Haena Park, a New York foreign exchange trader, has been charged with investor fraud, claiming her investments were profitable when she actually lost over $16 million since 2012. The SEC claims Park misrepresented her investment background in raising at least $14 million from over thirty investors for funds she operated under the name Phaetra and Argenta. While enduring major losses in the futures and forex markets, she allegedly fooled investors by, among other things, sending them monthly statements showing fictitious profits. In a parallel criminal case, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said Park defrauded investors out of more than $23 million since January 2010. According to the prosecution, she claimed annualized returns as high as 48.9% but lost about $19.5 million of the $20 million she had traded. Authorities believe she hid the losses by using $3 million in new investor funds to pay back previous investors in classic Ponzi fashion. “We allege that [...]

By |June 17th, 2016|Fraud, Press Releases & News, SEC|
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FDA Official And Hedge Fund Managers Charged In Securities Scheme

According to federal prosecutors, two hedge fund managers--Sanjay Valvani and Christopher Plaford-- conspired with a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official--George Johnston, who had access to insider information on the fate of generic drug candidates--to profit by committing securities fraud. While employed as Visium Asset Management hedge fund managers, Valvani and Plaford executed stock trades based on insider information from Johnston about generic drug applications, said the prosecution. Prosecutors also allege Plaford and Stefan Lumiere conspired to inflate the value of a fixed-income fund they were managing for Visium. “As alleged, Valvani, Johnston, and Plaford conspired to extract highly confidential and tightly guarded information about pending applications for general drug approvals from the FDA, and traded on such information, reaping millions of dollars in illegal profits," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. "Lumiere and Plaford also allegedly conspired to mismark securities held by their fund, lying to their investors and unjustly enriching themselves in the process.” Valvani [...]

By |June 16th, 2016|Fraud, Press Releases & News, SEC|
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Philadelphia Broker Pleads Guilty To Fraud

William Bucci, a former stockbroker from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and related charges for thieving around $3 million from investors for an import business that never existed and other ventures. According to prosecutors, Bucci told investors that he would import high-end olive oil and wine from Italy. He further convinced his clientele to loan him money for a Jersey Shore home. Prosecutors said he used most of the money on personal expenses. Bucci, who lived in Philadelphia but worked in the suburbs, paid back some early investors partially with money he received from later investors in classic Ponzi fashion. Currently, the exact amount of his fraud is unknown. Bucci has posted bail and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joel Slomsky on Novemeber 17, 2016. Bucci's plea memorandum states that he solicited brokerage clients, former schoolmates, friends, and relatives to provide him with cash from 2004 to 2011 with the promise that he would repay them [...]

By |June 15th, 2016|Broker Check, FINRA, Fraud, Press Releases & News|
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