UBS Settles Hedge Fund Suit
UBS AG avoided going to trial today by mere hours by agreeing to settle a lawsuit in which it was alleged to have peddled “crap” and “vomit” securities during the financial crisis of 2007. Connecticut hedge fund Pursuit Partners claimed that UBS sold it asset-backed securities and failed to disclose that they were about to […]
GE Sues AIG For Securities Fraud, Rejects $960M Settlement
General Electric Inc.’s pension and investment funds lawsuit with American International Group Inc. is going to federal court in New York, resurrecting claims from a class action suit settled last year that AIG made misrepresentations to investors regarding the exposure of billions worth of mortgage-backed transactions, despite the housing market crashing. Between 2006 and 2009, […]
Georgia, Utah Men Sentenced In Ponzi Scheme Case
The Frankowski Firm is investigating a two-man Ponzi scheme that victimized Utah investors. Martin A. Pool of Atlanta, Georgia and Armand R. Franquelin of Liberty, Utah pleaded guilty in May to fraud and money laundering charges. The two admitted that they had persuaded investors to convert traditional Individual Retirement Accounts into self-directed accounts and invest […]
Indiana Man Receives 22 Year Sentence For North Carolina Ponzi Scheme
Thomas Kimmel, who federal prosecutors have accused of operating a Washington, North Carolina Ponzi scheme aimed at rural church goers, was sentenced in federal court this week to 264 months in prison. After serving that sentence he will serve three years of supervised release. Further, he has been ordered to pay over $16.5 million in […]
Three Sentenced For Church-Targeting Ponzi Scheme
The Frankowski Firm is currently investigating a Ponzi scheme aimed at church-goers. Two people from North Carolina and one from Florida were sentenced earlier this month for what federal authorities have called a church-targeting Ponzi scheme. All three individuals had previously testified against Thomas Kimmel from Indiana who was the alleged mastermind of the operation. […]
The Fiduciary Duty Rule: From Progress To Impasse
In July 2010, President Barack Obama signed into federal law the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which provided the SEC with the power to create a rule that would mandate all financial advisers act in the best interest of their clients. This rule is called the fiduciary-duty standard of care, which as […]
SEC Examining Possible Changes To The Definition Of “Accredited Investor”
The SEC is currently examining potential changes to its definition of “accredited investor.” Section 413(b)(2)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 states that the SEC must examine the definition of “accredited investors” under the Securities Act of 1933 every four years to determine whether it should be changed “for the protection of investors, in the […]
Jefferies Agrees To Pay $25 million For Mortgage Backed SecuritiesViolations
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged global investment bank and brokerage firm Jefferies LLC with failing to supervise its employees who sold mortgage-backed securities desk and were in turn lying to customers about pricing . An SEC investigation found that Jefferies representatives including Jesse Litvak, who the SEC charged with securities fraud last year, […]
RBS reaches $275 million mortgage-backed securities settlement
On Feb. 19, RBS officials announced that the company had reached a $275 million settlement with the U.S. government to resolve allegations of misleading investors in mortgage-backed securities. The settlement is the third-largest settlement in the U.S. class action against banks packaged and sold mortgage securities . This case was originally filed in 2008 by […]
Countrywide Alleges Fraud and Misrepresentations Claims Against It Are Time Barred
Countrywide Financial group is urging a California court to dismiss racketeering claims brought against it by Prudential Life Insurance Company. Prudential’s suit alleges that Countrywide used omissions and misrepresentations to sell low-quality mortgage backed securities to unknowing consumers. Countrywide is alleging that the claim is time barred based on an inquiry notice standard that would […]