Four Charged In Penny Stock Fraud Scheme Plead Not Guilty
The Frankowski Firm is investigating a penny stock fraud scheme that allegedly defrauded $290 million from thousands of investors, involving eight people who are facing criminal charges. Four of the eight charged in the pump-and-dump scheme were arraigned last week after a two-year investigation. Anthony Thompson of Bethesda, Maryland, Jay Fung of Delray Beach, Florida, […]
Alabama Supreme Court Affirms Class-Action Status In $3.2 Billion Lawsuit
Last week, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld a Jefferson County judge’s ruling that a lawsuit against CVS Caremark Corp. can proceed as a class-action to represent roughly 70,000 investors who assert that they lost $3.2 billion in a securities fraud during the 1990s. The case arises from twenty-one lawsuits filed by investors in 1998 against […]
7th Circuit Upholds Ponzi Scheme Convictions
The Frankowski Firm is investigating a Ponzi scheme involving the owners of Fair Finance, which was once a legitimate company that had provided financial services since the Great Depression. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit last week upheld the convictions of the three owners–Timothy Durham, James Cochran, and Rick Snow–who turned […]
FINRA Issues Investor Alert Regarding Frontier Funds
FINRA issued a new investors alert, this time warning investors considering funds that invest in frontier markets to take note of the large risk associated with these markets. Although no set definition of frontier markets exists, such frontier funds typically invest in companies in countries with developing securities markets, including Argentina, Lebanon, Nigeria, Slovenia, and […]
Judges Declines To Dismiss Principal Investment Groups Excessive Fee Suit
U.S. District Judge John A. Jarvey, an Iowa federal judge, decided not to dismiss a case alleging investment managers Principal Management Corp. and Principal Global Investors, LLC took too much on fees they charged a retirement plan investing in particular mutual funds. Judge Jarvey ruled that American Chemical & Equipment Inc 401(K) Retirement Plan (ACE) […]
Second Circuit Receives Unusual Madoff Appeal
New York federal prosecutors have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to dismiss an appeal by a federal prisoner who asserts that Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff was convicted because the government used mind-control techniques to influence the court. In July, a handwritten motion seeking to dismiss the case was filed under […]
Ponzi Schemer Confesses To Additional Fraud
Eliyahu Weinstein, a New Jersey Ponzi schemer already serving 22 years in prison for a $200 million real estate scam, confessed in federal court last week that he additionally defrauded potential investors in Facebook’s initial public stock offering and other real estate transactions. He then admitted to laundering the illicit proceeds. Weinstein pleaded guilty to […]
Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Contracts Block Arbitration
The United States Court of Appeals for the second circuit ruled this week that a forum-selection clause in Goldman Sachs and Citigroup contracts preempts their responsibility under FINRA rules to arbitrate disputes with a customer. The Appellate Court had consolidated two separate cases brought by Golden Empire Schools Financing Authority and North Carolina Eastern Municipal […]
Houston Financial Adviser Charged With Fraud
Earlier this week, the SEC charged a Houston financial adviser with fraud for failing to disclose to clients that it was profiting from a broker investing their money in mutual funds recommended by that broker. According to the SEC, Robare Group Ltd., a registered investment adviser that provides services for 350 separately managed accounts and […]
Wylys Unable To Pay $728 Million Sought By SEC
Attorneys for Samuel Wyly and the estate of Charles Wyly, who were found liable for using a network of offshore trusts to conceal stock holdings in illegal trading, claim that they cannot pay the $728 million demanded by the SEC, stating that it would bankrupt them. Last week featured closing arguments from both sides in […]