Tag Archives: Boca Raton Securities Fraud Attorneys
FINRA Criticized for Being Lenient on Financial Brokers
On May 29, 2014, one of five Commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission gave a speech to FINRA’s Division of Market Regulation. While the SEC is the final government regulator of the country’s securities industry, FINRA—or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority—is a key player in U.S. markets. FINRA is not itself a government… Read More »
Federal Agencies Focus on South Florida Securities Fraud
In December 2010, several federal government agencies began cooperating with each other to combat securities fraud. Known as the “Southern District of Florida Securities and Investment Fraud Initiative,” or just “the Initiative,” this effort has had tremendous success in the last three-and-a-half years. Recently, the Initiative reported that eighty-five defendants have been charged since… Read More »
Marijuana-Related Investment Fraud
The debate surrounding marijuana legalization in the United States continues to rage. While the federal government has not enacted any legislation to change the government’s prohibitionary stance on the drug, some states—most notably Colorado—have gone so far as to legalize the substance for recreational use. Some other states have at least decriminalized marijuana, or… Read More »
FINRA Alerts Investors to Ebola Stock Scammers
Media outlets throughout the world continue to report on the tragic Ebola outbreak still ravaging West Africa. As recently reported, over 1,200 people have been killed since the virus began rapidly spreading in December 2013—and almost twice that number have been sickened. The virus itself does not appear to be directly affecting the United… Read More »
Black Diamond Ponzi Scheme
Three more members of the infamous Black Diamond Ponzi Scheme were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay millions in restitution to victims. Within the Ponzi scheme, the members claimed that they were a legitimate hedge fund operating in North Carolina, and it came crashing down in 2012 after the operation lost over $40… Read More »
Florida “Blue Sky” Laws
The federal government’s authority over the U.S. securities market is far reaching. The FBI and the Justice Department investigate allegations of fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission polices industry professionals and wrongdoing investors. Even FINRA’s oversight of brokers and brokerages has its roots in a federal law requiring its existence. Indeed, the federal securities… 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 »
