1. On July 27, 2022, the SEC charged J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, UBS Financial Services Inc., and TradeStation Securities, Inc. for deficiencies in their programs to prevent customer identity theft, in violation of the SEC’s Identity Theft Red Flags Rule, or Regulation S-ID.  According to the SEC’s orders, from at least January 2017 to October … Read More

1. On June 27, 2022, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against German Nino for  misappropriating $5.8 million from one of his long-standing advisory clients. Nino represented that he would invest all of the client’s funds in securities but instead used some of the funds for personal expenses, namely for gifts and travel and living expenses … Read More

1. On May 25, 2022, the SEC filed charges against Cornerstone Acquisition & Management Company LLC, Derren Lee Geiger and She Hwea Ngo for making false and misleading statements, committing other deceptive acts, and committing recordkeeping and compliance violations. Cornerstone, Geiger, and Ngo engaged in a scheme to deceive investors in Cornerstone’s private funds. Their … Read More

1. On April 28, 2022, the SEC charged publicly-traded asset manager Medley Management and its former co-CEOs, Brook Taube and Seth Taube, with making misrepresentations to investors and clients that created the illusion of Medley’s likely future growth. The respondents have agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and will collectively pay $10 million in civil … Read More

1. On March 31, 2022, the SEC obtained a final judgement against Gregory Lemelson, Lemelson Capital Management, LLC, and The Amvona Fund. Gregory Lemelson and Lemelson Capital Management, LLC were charged with making false statements to drive down the price of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. and profit from a short position in Ligand’s stock. Lemelson and … Read More

1. On February 28, 2022, the SEC filed an amended complaint (which is highly unusual) bringing additional charges against Ofer Abarbanel and Victor Chilelli in the scheme resulting in more than $77 million being returned to harmed investors. Abarbanel and Chilelli engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in an offshore fund. After promising to … Read More

1. On January 31, 2022, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against Robert Van Zandt. Van Zandt participated in a scheme to sell more than $35.5 million in bogus securities to 250 investors. Rather than invest their moneys as promised, Van Zandt used his investors’ funds to pay earlier investors and satisfy personal expenses. This matter … Read More

1. On December 29, 2021, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against Laurence Balter. Balter fraudulently allocated profitable trades to his own accounts to the detriment of several client accounts. Further, Balter falsely told his clients who invested in the Oracle Fund that they would not pay both advisory fees and management fees for the portions … Read More

On November 24, 2021, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against Upright Financial Corp. and David Chiueh. Upright, as UPUPX’s investment adviser, and Chiueh made investments for UPUPX that were inconsistent with UPUPX’s classification as a diversified investment company, and UPUPX’s fundamental policy with respect to industry concentration as disclosed in its registration statement. Upright and … Read More

On October 29, 2021, the SEC charged BNZ, Brett Barber and Louis Zimmerle for fraudulently raising $13.5 million from more than 100 retail investors. BNZ, Barber, and Zimmerle told investor that BNZ was in the business of making investments in real estate and alternative investments and promising to pay investors significant returns, generally 10% per … Read More