FINRA Fines Merrill Lynch $6M

FINRA fined two Merrill Lynch units $6 million yesterday for alleged short-selling rule violations, which included letting thousands of orders through their systems that violated emergency bans on 'naked' short sales in 2008. According to FINRA, Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. and Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc. did not have sufficient supervisory policies and procedures implemented in order to adhere to the SEC's emergency orders in July and September 2008 that prevented traders from selling short shares of certain companies they did not own or had not previously arranged to borrow. These orders additionally mandated that traders deliver shares by the settlement date, which is typically three days after the transaction. The Merrill Lynch units, subsequently, let thousands of orders go through their systems in violation of the SEC's orders, which were made to prevent abusive, naked short sales in the midst of the financial crisis. FINRA additionally stated that Merrill Lynch's clearing unit failed to close out [...]

Connecticut Financial Adviser Admits Securities Fraud

Noah Myers, a financial adviser from Lyme, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in federal court this week to defrauding a number of his client through what is called a "cherry-picking" securities fraud. Myers waived his right to indictment and entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Myers, who was first investigated by the SEC in 2012, was the sole owner of MiddleCove Capital, LLC in Essex, Connecticut. He admitted to taking profits from successful investments for himself and favored accounts while giving losses to disfavored accounts. This process was made possible as Myers would wait to assign a trade to an account until after he determined the investment was profitable, a practice known as "cherry-picking." Myers scheme resulted in client losses of over $2 million. Simultaneously, as the SEC alleges, Myers made off with $460,000. What makes the matter worse is that a number of Myers' clients who lost their funds were retired or were utilizing their [...]

New Mexico Man Indicted On Securities Fraud Charges

Jeffrey B. Bland, a businessman from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was indicted last week on felony charges for allegedly stealing $229,000 from an elderly Alamogordo, New Mexico investor. An Otero County, New Mexico grand jury returned the criminal indictment containing eight felony charges, including securities fraud, sale of an unregistered security, and sale of a security by an unregistered agent and fraud. New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Superintendent Mike Unthank worries about frauds such as these, stating "Financial fraud against our elderly is heartbreaking because in most cases the victims have lost their entire retirement savings and are left in financial ruins." Last May, the New Mexico Securities Division got a complaint from the elderly investor, who had invested $229,000 with Bland in a promissory note issued by a property management firm. The grand jury indictment alleges that Bland only made two of the payments he represented he would make and converted a large portion of the remaining funds for his [...]