SEC Charges Investment Adviser With Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against a registered investment adviser and its owner for allegedly engaging in self-dealing and failing to disclose material facts to clients regarding conflicts of interest, use of investor funds, and the risks of the investments they recommended. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the SEC alleges that Family Endowment Partners LP and its owner, Lee Dana Weiss, of Newton, Massachusetts, urged their clients to invest more than $40 million in illiquid securities issued by several related companies without disclosing that Weiss had an ownership…
Read MoreSEC Charges UBS Puerto Rico and Two Individuals in Actions Relating to Former Broker’s Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico and a former branch manager for failing to supervise a former broker who had customers invest in UBSPR affiliated mutual funds using money borrowed from a UBSPR affiliated bank. UBSPR and the bank prohibited using such loans to purchase securities and the practice exposed investors to losses while producing profits for the former UBSPR broker, the SEC alleged. UBSPR agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying $15 million in disgorgement, interest, and penalties, which will be placed into a fund for harmed investors. The former…
Read MoreSEC to Hold Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee Meeting on October 27
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that its Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee will hold its second meeting on October 27, beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET. The Commission established the advisory committee in February to provide a formal mechanism through which the Commission can receive advice and recommendations on equity market structure issues. The meeting will focus on two important market structure topics – Rule 610 of SEC Regulation NMS and the regulatory structure of trading venues. The committee will discuss the impact of the access fees and rebates that today are widely used by exchanges and other trading…
Read MoreSEC Charges Trinity Capital Corporation and Former Bank Executives With Accounting Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Trinity Capital Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Los Alamos National Bank, have agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle accounting fraud charges. An SEC investigation found that Trinity materially misstated its provision for loan losses and its allowance for loan and lease losses in its quarterly and annual filings with the Commission during 2010, 2011, and the first two quarters of 2012. Specifically, Trinity understated its reported 2011 net loss available to common shareholders by $30.5 million, reporting income of $4.9 million instead of a $25.6 million loss. Five current or former…
Read MoreCredit Suisse to Pay $4.25 Million and Admits to Providing Deficient “Blue Sheet” Trading Data
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC with submitting deficient information to the agency over a two-year period about trades done by its customers, commonly referred to as “blue sheet data.” Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, which is headquartered in New York, New York, agreed to settle the charges by paying a $4.25 million penalty and admitting it violated the recordkeeping and reporting provisions of the federal securities laws. It also agreed to be censured and to cease and desist future violations of the books and records provisions of the federal securities laws. According to…
Read More