Month: July 2017

SEC Files Charges to Stop Fraudulent Misuse of Cancer-Fighting Investments to Fund Restaurant Businesses

Banking News – SEC Files Charges to Stop Falsified Misuse of Cancer-Fighting Funds to Fund Restaurant Businesses
&nbsp

The Securities and Chat Fee today filed charges to stop an alleged ongoing fraud by a Massachusetts manufacturer misusing funds projected for the enhancement of cancer diagnostic tests to instead pay private expenses and fund his fiancée’s restaurant businesses. 

According to the SEC’s protest, Patrick Muraca customary two pharmaceutical enhancement companies and raised nearly $1.2 million by in place of to investors that their money would be used to develop harvest to detect cancer and other diseases.  The SEC has traced the flow of shareholder funds into Muraca’s private bank account and alleges that at least $400,000 has been used to pay rent for the restaurants and fund other buys by Muraca, counting payments to a casino, automotive shop, and cigar shop. 

The SEC alleges that investors were never well-informed of the uncommon uses of their funds in NanoMolecularDX LLC and MetaboRX LLC, counting the fact that Muraca characterized the general reputation of the businesses as “Serving Food; Restaurant” in break ID he has filed with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to do affair in the state.

The SEC today obtained a court order freezing the assets of Muraca and his companies.

“As alleged in our protest, we’re intervening to protect investors because Muraca has veered from his stated intentions and has been using their money for purposes other than the fight against cancer and other diseases,” said Paul Levenson, Boss of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office. 

In a analogous action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern Constituency of New York today announced criminal charges against Muraca.

The SEC’s protest charges Muraca, NanoMolecularDX, and MetaboRX with violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Chat Act of 1934.  The protest seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten fiscal gains plus appeal and penalties.

The SEC’s case is being handled by Emily Holness, Rebecca Israel, Mark Albers, Marty Healey, and Amy Gwiazda of the SEC’s Boston office.  The SEC appreciates the help of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern Constituency of New York. 

SEC.gov Updates: Press Releases – https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-136

How you could be using your credit cards all wrong

Private Finance – How you could be using your credit cards all incorrect
 Listen up, Millennials — you could be getting a lot more out of your credit cards than you reckon.
Private finance news – CNNMoney.com – http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_pf/~3/sB0YLlWRFt0/index.html

The sequel to the global financial crisis is here

Banking News – The sequel to the global fiscal crisis is here
&nbspHigh credit ratings have hidden a structural precariousness, writes Frank Partnoy
Fiscal Times – Fiscal Air force – https://www.ft.com/content/95808118-662e-11e7-9a66-93fb352ba1fe

SEC Files Fraud Charges Against Former Brokers Targeting Federal Retirees

Banking News – SEC Files Fraud Charges Against Former Brokers Targeting Federal Retirees
&nbsp

The Securities and Chat Fee today charged four former Atlanta-area brokers with illegally inducing federal employees to roll over worth from their federal Thrift Savings Plot (TSP) retirement fiscal proclamation into higher-fee, dithering annuity harvest. 

The SEC’s enforcement action comes at a time when the agency has been focusing more particularly on brokers’ and advisers’ interactions with senior investors, and others investing for retirement, through the ReTIRE initiative of the agency’s inhabitant exam program and the work of the Broker-Dealer Task Force in its Enforcement Rift.

The SEC’s protest charges an entity called Federal Worker Refund Counselors through which the brokers embattled federal employees nearing retirement with sizable funds invested in the TSP.  The protest alleges that the brokers misled investors as regards noteworthy details about the not compulsory dithering annuity investment, counting the linked fees and cast iron investment returns.  The brokers allegedly fostered the ambiguous depression that they were in some way linked with or ordinary by the federal regime.  In some instances, investors were led to believe that their funds would be invested in a product that was offered, vetted, or particularly elected by the TSP.  According to the SEC’s protest, the brokers sent investors shared or bespoke transaction forms as well as written equipment they devised that obscured that the investment was a privately issued dithering annuity with no tie to the TSP and would be processed through a private brokerage firm with which the brokers were linked.  The brokers sold approximately 200 dithering annuities with a total face value of approximately $40 million to federal employees, who used monies rolled over from their TSP fiscal proclamation to fund their buys.  The brokers commonly earned approximately $1.7 million in commissions on these sales.

“As alleged in our protest, these brokers were motivated by the prospects of higher commissions as they embattled federal employees age 59½ and over and intentionally obscured vital details when recommending dithering annuity buys.  They even allegedly disqualified the words ‘dithering annuity’ from some equipment they shared with TSP account holders,” said Aaron W. Lipson, Normal Boss of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office. 

The SEC today issued an shareholder alert stressing that the TSP will never contact federal employees asking them to provide insightful private in rank and does not consent to third parties to provide analysis or investment-related air force. 

“Be disbelieving if someone offers you an investment chance and claims to be linked with the federal regime,” said Lori Schock, Boss of the SEC’s Office of Shareholder Culture and Promotion.

The four former brokers charged in the SEC’s protest are Christopher S. Laws, Jonathan D. Cooke, Danny S. Hood, and Brandon P. Long.  The protest charges them and Federal Worker Refund Counselors with violating and aiding and abetting violations of some or all of the provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5.  The SEC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus appeal and penalties and stable injunctions.

The SEC’s Atlanta office conducted the investigation and will lead the legal action.  The Broker-Dealer Task Force is led by Antonia Chion and Andrew M. Calamari.

SEC.gov Updates: Press Releases – https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-135

HSBC: the long goodbye

Banking News – HSBC: the long goodbye
&nbspStuart Gulliver approaches his 2018 departure with shares close to post-crisis high
FT.com – Banks – https://www.ft.com/content/bfa198c8-7606-11e7-90c0-90a9d1bc9691

JPMorgan develops robot to execute trades

Banking News – JPMorgan develops robot to do trades
&nbspTrial shows AI is more well-methodical than habitual methods of buying and selling
FT.com – Banks – https://www.ft.com/content/16b8ffb6-7161-11e7-aca6-c6bd07df1a3c

Watchdog probes Deloitte audit of Mitie accounts

Banking News – Overseer probes Deloitte audit of Mitie fiscal proclamation
&nbspFinancial Exposure Council investigation follows profit warnings by outsourcing firm
Fiscal Times – Fiscal Air force – https://www.ft.com/content/8189842a-75bf-11e7-90c0-90a9d1bc9691

OPEC Gives Oil Markets a Lift

Private Finance – OPEC Gives Oil Markets a Lift
 Kiplinger’s latest forecast on the management of energy prices
Kiplinger Private Finance – http://portal.kiplinger.com/article/affair/T019-C000-S010-energy-price-forecast.html?rss_source=rss

5 Critical Questions to Ask Your Financial Adviser

Private Finance – 5 Vital Questions to Question Your Fiscal Adviser
 You’re innocent your fiscal future with this person, so you must be crystal clear on these key issues.
Kiplinger Private Finance – http://portal.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T023-C032-S014-5-vital-questions-to-question-your-fiscal-adviser.html?rss_source=rss

The 7 Most Common 401(k) Mistakes to Avoid

Private Finance – The 7 Most Common 401(k) Mistakes to Avoid
 Many Baby Boomers might not be ready for retirement, but younger workers have a chance to do better – if they make the most of their 401(k)s.
Kiplinger Private Finance – http://portal.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T001-C032-S014-the-7-most-common-401-k-mistakes-to-avoid.html?rss_source=rss