Boutique registered investment adviser City National Rochdale (CNR) will pay more than $30 million to settle charges that its “undisclosed conflicts of interest defrauded current and prospective clients,” the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports. The $30 million-plus from CNR will be placed into an SEC fund for distribution to “harmed investors.” SEC officials… Read More >>
Crypto Scams Spur Warning from Vermont Regulator
It’s not exactly Ella singing “Moonlight in Vermont.” More like one of those scary-movie shadows falling across the night sky, just before Count Dracula swoops in through the window. An exaggeration? It might not seem like one to Vermont’s would-be investors who — in just one month — reported more than $1 million in crypto-scam… Read More >>
State Street Fraud Case Resolved via Fine & DPA
State Street will be paying a criminal penalty of $115 million and entering into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in a resolution of a federal case involving charges of fraud against custody customers, according to the U.S. Justice Department and the firm. The settlement with the Justice Department is an acknowledgment from State Street that… Read More >>
CFTC Pursues Alleged Bitcoin Swindler Gone Missing
It looks like a classic case of take the money and run. Following its investigation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has gone to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and been awarded a massive default judgment against an alleged bitcoin fraudster. That alleged bitcoin fraudster is one Benjamin… Read More >>
FINRA Warns Broker-Dealers About ‘Instant Funds’ Scam
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, aka FINRA, the self-regulatory organization (SRO) for the brokerage business, has issued a warning to the broker-dealers it supervises. According to a “special alert” from FINRA, dated March 25, 2021, so-called “retail investors” have a new rip-off to worry about. “Retail investors” are, for the most part, non-professionals who might be losing big… Read More >>
Financial Crime Probes Miss the Mark: Report
Banks and other financial firms are expected to encounter “increasing risks and exposure to losses” because of “hackers and online adversaries.” That is the top-line conclusion of the 2020 Global Financial Crimes Survey, conducted by Authentic8, in partnership with the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS). Authentic8 offers a platform that “enables anyone, anywhere,… Read More >>
DoJ Gives Back $378 Million to Madoff Victims
Some day, perhaps, Malaysian sovereign-fund alleged fraudster Jho Low, who has escaped prosecution by fleeing to China, will be played in the inevitable biopic by Jet Li or Chow Yun Fat. But until then Bernie Madoff will remain Wall Street’s King of All Media. In fact, Bernard L. Madoff was so a major a media… Read More >>
CFTC Scores Default Judgment Against Alleged FX Fraudster
An alleged foreign exchange (FX) currency investment fraudster and his defunct investment company are now facing a default judgment in the Northern District of Georgia for “failing to plead or otherwise defend” against the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s allegation that they “fraudulently solicited and misappropriated nearly $700,000 from more than 50 clients in a… Read More >>
SEC, U.S. Attorneys Target ‘Financial Con Artist’
SEC officials are alleging that “financial con artist” Nicholas Joseph Genovese is a convicted felon perpetrating a fraud by misrepresenting his money management and securities industry experience as he raises money for his hedge fund Willow Creek Investments LP. Describing Genovese as “a purported hedge fund manager in New York City with a brazen offering,”… Read More >>
Supreme Court Curtails SEC’s Disgorgement Power
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the SEC must rein in its disgorgement policy and apply a new, five-year statute of limitations upon its efforts to retrieve restitution for alleged ill-gotten gains. The disgorgement process is the repayment of money allegedly obtained via illegal activity. In cases large and small, the SEC has… Read More >>
