Hedge Funds and Their Returns on Investment
Steve Mnuchin is expected to be the new Secretary of the Treasury Department for the U.S. Mr. Mnuchin is a former hedge fund manager, which got us to thinking about the complexity of these investments and the potential pitfalls investing in hedge funds. The first thing to know about hedge funds is that they are […]
Oppenheimer & Co. Fined By FINRA
FINRA fined Oppenheimer & Co. $3.4 Million for failures in reporting internal discipline, giving information in arbitration cases, and offering sales discounts to customers. [su_spacer size=”10″] Between 2008 and 2016, the firm was on average four years late making 365 filings with FINRA, pertaining to disciplinary actions it took against its own brokers and arbitration […]
Paul Lebel Barred By SEC For Churning
Paul Lebel, a broker formerly with LPL Financial from 2008 to 2014, was barred by the SEC for churning and excessively trading mutual funds in customer accounts and generating excess fees. [su_spacer size=”10″] According to the SEC administrative proceeding, Lebel “defrauded four customers by churning several of their accounts. In particular, Lebel exercised de facto control […]
Ex-Broker Charged With Improper Trading
FINRA charged David Randall Lockey, a former broker, with profiting as a result of improper trading of customer accounts over a span of nearly two years. According to FINRA’s complaint, Lockey “engaged in unsuitable short-term trading and switching in” mutual funds and unit investment trusts in four accounts between May 2012 and March 2014 during his time […]
FINRA Panel Orders UBS To Pay For Bond Losses
A FINRA arbitration panel ordered UBS Group AG’s wealth management business for the Americas to pay over $470,000 to three investors who claimed damages because their accounts were over-concentrated in Puerto Rico bonds that plummeted. The investors–Obdulio Melendez Ramos, Ramon Velez Garcia and Carlos L. Merced–filed the arbitration in 2014 and sought up to $570,243 […]
UMT Headquarters Raided By Law Enforcement
Law enforcement authorities raided the headquarters of United Mortgage Trust (“UMT”) in a suburb of Dallas, Texas this month, looking for documents pertaining to management of the company. A search warrant was issued by a federal magistrate of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Particular executive offices and employees were […]
Texas REIT Subpoenaed Following FBI Raid
Management of real estate investment trust United Development Funding IV, a hedge fund accused of operating as a Ponzi scheme, has been subpoenaed to turn over company documents to a grand jury. Last week, the FBI raided the REIT’s offices outside of Dallas. While performing their search, “law enforcement officers served executive officers of the trust […]
Texas REIT Offices Raided By FBI
The FBI raided the office of a Texas REIT, United Development Funding IV, this week. The firm saw its stock price drop 81% in the past two months after a hedge fund alleged it was operating for years like a Ponzi scheme. “The FBI is lawfully present and conducting law enforcement activity” at the UDF […]
FINRA Bars Two Advisers Following Broker Fraud
FINRA has barred two Buffalo, New York advisers, Timothy S. Dembskyi and Walter F. Grenda, from the securities industry for broker fraud in relation to the sale of a hedge fund, the Prestige Wealth Management Fund, LP. Dembski and Grenda’s misconduct occurred while they were employed with Mid Atlantic Capital Corporation. FINRA discovered that Dembski […]
FINRA Fines Barclays Capital $13.75M
FINRA ordered Barclays Capital, Inc. to pay over $10 million in restitution, including interest, to affected customers for mutual fund-related suitability violations. These suitability violations relate to an array of mutual fund transactions including mutual fund switches. Further, the firm failed to provide applicable breakpoint discounts to particular customers and was censured and fined $3.75 […]
