Gregory Bauer Barred By FINRA
FINRA barred former Waddell & Reed Inc. broker Gregory Bauer from the securities industry for making over $400,000 in unauthorized withdrawals from his parents’ accounts. [su_spacer size=”10″] Bauer, was registered with Waddell & Reed from 2004 to 2013. According to the settlement, for numerous years at the firm, Bauer was the registered representative serving his parents […]
Sam Wyly Settles Federal Fraud Charges for $198.1M
Sam Wyly, an ex-Texas billionaire who has declared bankruptcy, will pay $198.1 million to settle federal securities regulator claims accusing him of securities fraud to hide trades in companies that were under his control through the use of offshore trusts. A federal bankruptcy judge in Dallas and the SEC commissioners must still approve the settlement. According to […]
SEC Sets Record In Enforcement Actions Against Advisers
The SEC filed a record number of enforcement actions against investment advisers and firms during the past fiscal year, the commission announced. It filed 160 cases against advisers and firms, including 98 standalone cases, rather than follow-up actions or cases based in delinquent regulatory filings. The SEC stated that both numbers are records. [su_spacer size=”10″] The […]
SEC Charges Duo For $20M Penny Stock Fraud
The SEC charged an ex-microcap CEO and a boiler room operator with pressuring senior citizens and other investors to purchase penny stocks in a $20 million fraud. Craig V. Sizer is the former CEO of Sanomedics, which supposedly sold non-contact infrared thermometers, and chairman of software applications company Fun Cool Free, according to the SEC. […]
SEC Fines Firms $2.2M For Spreading False Claims By F-Squared
The SEC ordered thirteen firms to pay a total of $2.2 million for spreading false claims made by F-Squared Investments regarding performance of a strategy it used in exchange-traded funds. The SEC found the firms “accepted and negligently relied” on F-Squared’s claims that its “AlphaSector strategy” for investing in ETFs had outperformed the S&P 500 […]
Thomas Conrad Jr. Defrauds Investors 40 Years After Ban
According to the SEC, Thomas Conrad Jr.–an 85 year old man from Alpharetta, Georgia who was barred from the securities industry 45 years ago for fraud–was defrauding investors all over again with the assistance of his 55 year old son, Stuart P. Conrad. The two allegedly defrauded investors in a group of hedge funds they […]
Welliver Pleads Guilty To Securities Fraud
David Blaine Welliver, whose career as a financial advisor began in the early 1990s with a $400 classified ad promoting his one-man office, ended that career by recently pleading guilty to a charge of securities fraud in a St. Paul, Minnesota federal courtroom. He is looking at up to five years in prison. [su_spacer size=”10″]The […]
SEC Fines Firm $300K For Failing To Disclose Fees
The SEC fined RiverFront Investment Group of Richmond, Virginia $300,000 for charging clients additional fees beyond their wrap program for investment management. The firm agreed to the penalty without admitting or denying the allegations. The Commission censured the firm as well. [su_spacer size=”10″]This case was the result of the SEC prioritizing wrap account examinations previously […]
Dawn Bennett Barred From Securities Industry
The SEC barred Dawn Bennett from the securities industry for inflating her firm’s assets under management and investment performance to bring in more business from well-to-do clients. The commission also ordered her and her firm, Bennett Group, to pay over $4 million in fines and disgorgement. The ruling was handed down by Administrative Law Judge James […]
Adviser To Plead Guilty To $21M Ponzi Scheme
Patrick E. Churchville, an investment adviser from Rhode Island, is expected to plead guilty to criminal charges for running a $21 million Ponzi scheme, according to a statement made by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In addition, Churchville used $2.5 million of his clients’ cash to buy a house, and he failed to pay over $820,000 […]