FSC Securities To Pay $1.28M In Ponzi Case

FSC Securities will pay a $1.28 million arbitration award to investors who were defrauded by Aubrey Lee Price, who had feigned his death in 2012 to avoid being investigated for his $40 million Ponzi scheme. FSC, a broker-dealer in the AIG Advisor Group, was alleged by 8 investors to have failed to supervise a number of unnamed brokers, who sold the investors "unspecified fraudulent securities as part of a Ponzi scheme," according to FINRA's arbitration award. John Chapman, lawyer for the investors, claimed that Price and two ex-FSC brokers solicited investments in the primary vehicle for the scheme, which was called the PFG fund. In an investigation by the FBI, the bureau found that Price started making risky investments in 2009, after he had left FSC. Chapman claims that two FSC advisers pushed client money into the PFG fund, both of whom eventually left FSC. “FSC did a really bad job paying attention and supervision. [sic] They were asleep at the [...]

Alabama Man Sentenced For Ponzi Scheme

Bryan Anderson, a former broker from Hoover, Alabama, was sentenced yesterday to seven years and three months in federal prison after pleading guilty to operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of over $3 million. U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Hopkins also ordered Anderson to pay restitution of $3,068,614 plus interest to his victims. He will also serve three years on probation and was ordered to participate in an alcohol treatment program. Anderson pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, and securities fraud in March and will report to prison on October 19. In making her determination on the length of Anderson's sentence, Hopkins considered the length of time the scheme occurred, stating, "He had many opportunities to stop, but he continued down [that path]." The U.S. Attorney's office was pleased with Hopkins' sentence. "Brian Anderson ran a Ponzi scheme for years, lying about investment options, risks and potential returns to lure unwitting investors into his snare," U.S. Attorney Joyce [...]

UBS Loses Arbitration, Forced To Pay $200k

UBS lost an arbitration case this week pertaining to the offer and sale of a number of Puerto Rico Fixed Income and Bond funds. The Claimant in the arbitration asserted causes of action for violation of the Puerto Rico Uniform Securities Act, securities fraud, constructive fraud, breach of contract, negligence, negligent supervision, failure to supervise, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation, omission of facts, manipulation, unsuitability, common law fraud, constructive fraud, and respondeat superior. The Claimant's allegations related to the her purchase of shares of Puerto Rico Fixed Income Funds I, II, and III and Puerto Rico Investors Bond Fund. In her statement of claim, the Claimant requested rescission of the closed end funds sold to her and $357,000 to $625,000 in compensatory damages, as well as interest, costs, attorneys' fees, and punitive damages. In her pre-hearing brief, the Claimant requested compensatory damages between $339,297 and $702,003. UBS requested dismissal of the claims and expungement of the action. After considering the [...]

Alabama Man Pleads Guilty In Ponzi Scheme Case

Over a five year span, former Hoover, Alabama financial broker Bryan Anderson found eighteen people to invest $8.4 million in a number of investments and guaranteed that the investments were completely risk free. Roughly two thirds of those investors watched Anderson at the federal courthouse in downtown Birmingham plead guilty to operating a Ponzi scheme that lost them $3.1 million. Anderson pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, and securities fraud before U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins. He will be sentenced on June 16. According to the plea deal with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Anderson will pay restitution of almost $3.1 million to investors and surrender an extra $3.4 million to the federal government. The prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence at the low-end of the spectrum. Richard Frankowski, who is representing the investors in their FINRA arbitration suits against Anderson, stated that the majority of the twelve investors identified as victims were at the courthouse for the plea. [...]