Tag Archives: Boca Raton Securities Arbitration Attorneys
Understanding the FINRA Arbitration Process
What happens when there is a dispute between you and your investment broker? When you open a brokerage account, you typically sign some sort of customer agreement. This agreement usually contains language requiring arbitration to resolve any disagreement or dispute arising from your account. But what does “arbitration” actually mean? Arbitration and FINRA Arbitration… Read More »
Federal Prosecutors Charge Operator of Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
On Nov. 6, the United States Attorney’s office in Manhattan charged Trendon Shavers with securities fraud in connection with his defunct Bitcoin Savings & Trust, an alleged Ponzi scheme targeting users of the popular virtual currency Bitcoin. Shavers was arrested at his home in Texas. Back in August, a federal judge rejected Shavers’ argument… Read More »
FINRA Urges Focus on “Concentration Risk”
No two investors are the same. They have different income goals, different risk tolerances, and different time horizons—among other differentiating factors. Indeed, one of the most common ways in which investors and brokers get into disputes with each other is through complaints of “unsuitability.” This is an argument by the investor that his or… Read More »
Eleventh Circuit Reaffirms “Flexible” Approach to Securities Class Actions
One of the most powerful tools in investors’ arsenals against securities fraud is the securities class action. In these types of cases, many plaintiffs join together on behalf of themselves and others allegedly harmed. A class action allows plaintiffs to pool litigation resources, and be represented by one or more attorneys, instead of each… Read More »
FINRA Arbitration Statistics Shed Light on Securities Disputes
As a principal forum for dispute resolution in the securities context, FINRA has overseen thousands of arbitration and mediation proceedings. In simple terms, arbitration is an often-required method of resolving disputes between investors and their brokers or brokerages, in which a FINRA arbitrator provides a binding decision on both parties. And mediation is a… Read More »
Dark Pools Brought Further into the Light
In recent years, more and more securities have been traded away from the public eye, exposing markets to new kinds of possible securities fraud. As Bloomberg reported in 2012, only 68 percent of all trades occurred on public markets, like the NASDAQ or New York Stock Exchange. This number, down from 74 percent as… Read More »
Power of “Failure to Supervise” Affirmed by Federal Appeals Court
When one person is wronged by another—in the securities context or otherwise—fault can sometimes be placed at the feet of more than just the person who actively committed the wrong. For example, the courts and the regulatory agencies overseeing the financial markets (including FINRA and the SEC) have long recognized “failure to supervise” as… Read More »
The Frequency of Ponzi Schemes
Not every Ponzi scheme—a fraudulent financial operation where the operator pays returns on old investments from new investors—makes the national news. Certainly, the implosion of Bernie Madoff’s scheme in 2009 was uniquely destructive. Investors with Madoff lost approximately $17 billion (the next worst Ponzi scheme of all time also unraveled in 2009, with $7… Read More »
The Difficulty of Getting Around Arbitration Clauses
Disputes between a broker and investor—like many other disputes in the commercial and financial world—are often resolved through arbitration. Arbitration, which is a court-free, less formal proceeding resolved by a neutral third party, is commonly required by agreements signed at the outset of the broker/investor relationship (and most commonly carried out by FINRA, the… Read More »