SEC Charges Manhattan-Based Attorney With Conducting Ponzi Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Manhattan-based attorney with conducting a Ponzi scheme that defrauded some of his legal clients as well as close family members and friends. The SEC alleges that Charles A. Bennett raised approximately $5 million by selling purported investments in what he described as a pool of funds that invested in joint ventures with a Wyoming-based investment fund to which he claimed to have a close connection. Bennett told investors their money would largely be used to fund investments in European real estate mortgage-backed securities yielding lucrative rates of return ranging anywhere from 6…
Read MoreSEC Files Securities Fraud Charges Against Owner of Home Restoration Business in Upstate New York
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced securities fraud charges against the owner of a home restoration business in upstate New York who sold unsecured notes to investors to finance his real estate operations. The SEC alleges that David Fleet misrepresented or failed to disclose a number of key facts to investors in Cornerstone Homes Inc., which was in the business of buying and restoring distressed single family homes to sell or rent to low-income customers. For example, investors were told that the company did not use bank financing during time periods when Fleet was heavily reliant on mortgaging to…
Read MoreSEC Announces Agenda for Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies
table { border:none; } The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the agenda for the December 17 meeting of its Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies. The meeting will focus on the definition of “accredited investor.” Under the federal securities laws, certain securities offerings are exempt from registration only if the securities are sold to persons who are accredited investors. The Advisory Committee will hear presentations on issues surrounding the accredited investor definition from David M. Certner, Legislative Counsel and Legislative Policy Director, AARP, and Marianne Hudson, Executive Director, Angel Capital Association. The meeting will begin at 9:30 in…
Read MoreSEC Names Karol Pollock to Lead Exam Program in Los Angeles Office
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Karol L.K. Pollock has been named the new leader of the examination program in the Los Angeles Regional Office. Ms. Pollock has nearly 25 years of experience in securities enforcement and examination regulation at the SEC, FINRA, and New Mexico Securities Division as well as in the private sector. She has worked in the SEC’s Los Angeles office for the past 10 years, starting as a staff attorney in the Enforcement Division and later serving as a branch chief. In 2009, she became Assistant Director of the exam program, and was named…
Read MoreSEC Announces Fraud Charges Against Buffalo-Based Firm and Co-Owners Accused of Misleading Investors in Hedge Fund
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against a Buffalo, N.Y.-based investment advisory firm and two co-owners accused of making false and misleading statements to clients when recommending investments in a risky hedge fund. The hedge fund’s portfolio manager agreed to settle similar charges. The SEC’s Enforcement Division alleges that Timothy S. Dembski and Walter F. Grenda Jr. steered their clients at Reliance Financial Advisors to invest in a hedge fund managed by Scott M. Stephan, whose experience in the securities industry was greatly exaggerated in offering materials they disseminated. Dembski and Grenda allegedly knew that Stephan had…
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