On February 2, 2017, the SEC charged Sentinel Growth Fund Management, a Connecticut-based investment advisory business, and its owner with stealing investor money to settle a private lawsuit among other expenditures….
Earlier this month, John Rafal, former president and CEO of Essex Financial Services, Inc., admitted wrongdoing and agreed to pay more than $575,000 in settlement charges. According to the SEC, the Connecticut-based investment adviser defrauded a client, attempted to…
Last week, Alberto Chang-Rajii and his asset management company, Onix Capital LLC, were charged with fraud by the SEC. Using false claims of Chang’s wealth and investment success as an award-winning multi-millionaire “angel” investor, Chang and Onix apparently defrauded…
Earlier this month, Health Net Inc. agreed to pay a $340,000 penalty for illegally using severance agreements that required employees leaving the company to waive their right to obtain monetary awards from the SEC’s whistleblower program. According to the…
Earlier this week, four private fund advisers affiliated with Apollo Global Management agreed to a $52.7 million settlement. During an investigation by the SEC, the advisers were found to have misled fund investors about fees and a loan agreement,…
Brad Bennett, FINRA’s Executive Vice President and Chief of Enforcement, said, “A key element of retail investor protection is the aggressive pursuit of brokers who churn and excessively trade customer accounts. FINRA has no tolerance for brokers who place…
Earlier this week, the SEC won a court-ordered asset freeze of two former brokers, James Brennan III and Douglas Dyer, and their company Broad Street Ventures. The former brokers, both of whom have disciplinary histories with FINRA and state…
Although many believe in upholding the old adage to respect one’s elders, there are others who seek to take advantage of older Americans, targeting them for investment fraud. Unfortunately, many senior citizens fall victim to these scams if not…
On July 12, 2016, after undergoing an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding a computer coding error that caused Citigroup Global Markets to provide the agency with incomplete “blue sheet” information about trades it executed from…
When you receive an “8210 letter” from FINRA, your whole world can change. FINRA does not have subpoena power; rather, their investigative power comes from FINRA Rule 8210. But, that rule is very powerful when it comes to member…