New York Securities Lawyer Blog

Published on: November 18, 2011

Private Shares Fraud – Just the Beginning?

By justia.admin

Private shares fraud? We’ve been talking about it internally for months. Unregulated space where investors buy and sell private shares often of pre-IPO companies such as Groupon and Facebook. We think the potential fraud claims will occur in the pricing of the private shares. The seller, perhaps a company insider, plays around with valuations. But the Dealbook story posted below of John Mattera is an old school fraud. He allegedly stole people’s money by promising to sell them his personal private shares in high flying pre-IPO companies. Here’s the problem for his “investors”: may be no one to collect from. Mattera likely going to jail. His fund is finished. Good luck trying to sue and collect from the unregistered Long Island firm and/or its principals and the escrow service. What a shame. Private share investors need to be careful out there. Even in the more legitimate secondary private share markets run by larger firms. Due diligence is king.

DealBook – A Financial News Service of The New York Times November 17, 2011, 4:32 pm Manager Who Claimed to Own Facebook Shares Charged With Fraud By KEVIN ROOSE John A. Mattera was arrested in Florida on Thursday.

It may be the new, new thing in fraud.

Published on: October 17, 2011

Bloomberg: Goldman Sachs Asks Court to Throw Out $20.5 Million Bayou Creditors’ Award

By justia.admin

Below is a Bloomberg article about our firm’s $20.6 million FINRA arbitration award against Goldman Sachs related to Bayou. It’s the largest arbitration award ever rendered against Goldman. The award was confirmed by Judge Rakoff and Goldman filed it’s brief to the Second Circuit.

Goldman Sachs Asks Court to Throw Out $20.5 Million Bayou Creditors’ Award By Bob Van Voris – Oct 15, 2011

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) filed an appeal seeking to dismiss a $20.5 million arbitration award to creditors of the failed hedge fund firm Bayou Group LLC.

Published on: October 14, 2011

WSJ: Goldman Continues to Fight $20.5 Million Award in Pivotal Case

By justia.admin

Below is a WSJ article about our firm’s $20.6 million FINRA arbitration award against Goldman Sachs related to the Bayou hedge fund fraud. It is the largest arbitration award ever rendered against Goldman. The award was confirmed by Judge Rakoff of the SDNY in November 2010 and Goldman filed it’s brief to the Second Circuit this week.

Goldman Continues to Fight $20.5 Million Award in Pivotal Case By LIZ MOYER

NEW YORK-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is continuing to fight a $20.5 million arbitration award that, while relatively small from the big bank’s perspective, has broader implications for Wall Street.

Published on: October 11, 2011

On Wall Street Article About Firm’s $383mm FINRA Claim

By justia.admin

Below is an On Wall Street piece about our firm’s representation of a Saudi investor in a $383 million FINRA arbitration against Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

Citigroup Aims to Stop Arbitration From Proceeding By Lorie Konish, On Wall Street October 7, 2011

A new lawsuit filed by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. this week against a set of Saudi family investors with a $383 million claim against the firm will determine whether that case can proceed to arbitration.

Published on: October 11, 2011

Bloomberg: Citi Moves to Stay Customer’s $383mm FINRA Claim

By justia.admin

Below is a story about CGMI’s attempt to stay a $383 million FINRA arbitration filed by our firm related to inappropriate behavior with respect to derivatives, hedge funds, and private equity transactions.

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — A Citigroup Inc. unit sued two Saudi investors seeking to block Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration of their $383 million claim that the bank “wiped out” their family’s wealth.

Abdullah and Ghazi Abbar, a father and son from Jeddah who put family money into hedge funds, have no customer agreements or accounts with Citigroup Global Markets Inc., a New York-based broker dealer that they blame for mismanaging their family’s life savings, according to a complaint the Citigroup unit filed yesterday in federal court in Manhattan.

Published on: July 13, 2011

OTC Derivatives Fraud – CFTC, SEC Differ on New Derivatives Rules

By justia.admin

OTC Derivatives fraud aspect to an interesting Futures Magazine piece

CFTC, SEC Differ on New Derivatives Rules

6/26/2011

Published on: July 13, 2011

Securities Fraud Tweets

By justia.admin

Recent Securities Fraud tweets by Ross Intelisano:

FT: Investigators listened in on almost 100 clients of Primary Global. Buyer (and Seller) Beware. http://t.co/GRNEcNs · reply · retweet · favorite

MBIA Drops Merrill Fraud Case.Hard to tell if ML settled with dollars or MBIA forced to just withdraw.Bad news if latter http://t.co/kwPT9t8 2 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Published on: June 22, 2011

Regions Selling Morgan Keegan After $200M Bond Fund Hit

By justia.admin

Below is the Regions press release related to regulatory order for it to pay $200 million due to its actions related to the Morgan Keegan bond funds. Strangely, it announced also that it retained Goldman to explore selling Morgan Keegan. Regions has been extremely aggressive in defending the scores of arbitration claims filed by aggrieved investors of the Morgan Keegan bond funds, even consistently challenging in court arbitration awards it’s lost. A big issue going forward for our clients and other investors with pending arbitrations is how will the restitution fund, the SEC Order, the FINRA AWC and the potential sale of Morgan Keegan effect the cases.

Morgan Keegan Settles Regulatory Issues with SEC, FINRA, and State Regulators Regarding Former Fund Management Business; Regions to Explore Strategic Alternatives for Morgan Keegan

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Jun 22, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE:RF) announced today that its brokerage and investment banking subsidiary, Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc., and its asset management subsidiary, Morgan Asset Management, have agreed to a settlement of previously disclosed regulatory matters with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and a group of state securities regulators with respect to issues concerning certain mutual funds and closed-end funds (the RMK Funds), a business that Morgan Asset Management divested in 2008.

Published on: June 22, 2011

SEC & FINRA Order RMK to Pay $200M for Bond Funds

By justia.admin

Below is FINRA’s press release of the $200M restitution order the SEC and FINRA levied on Regions Morgan Keegan (RMK) related to bond funds it misrepresented to investors. Big for investors. We had blogged about this in April 2010 when the SEC charged Morgan Keegan & Company, Morgan Asset Management and two employees with fraudulently overstating the value of securities backed by subprime mortgages. These were the first federal government allegations related to the Regions Morgan Keegan bond funds which lost significant value in 2008. Many law firms around the U.S., including our firm, have been retained by investors who lost money in the Regions Morgan Keegan funds. Big fight will be to get fines into evidence during the pending arbitrations.

Morgan Keegan Ordered to Pay $200 Million to Investors to Settle Allegations Regarding Sales of Bond Funds Sales Materials Made Exaggerated Claims and Failed to Disclose Risks; Supervisory System Failures

WASHINGTON – The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and five state regulators from Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee announced today that each has settled enforcement proceedings against Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. Morgan Keegan will pay restitution of $200 million for customers who invested in seven affiliated bond funds, including the Regions Morgan Keegan Select Intermediate Bond Fund (Intermediate Fund). Morgan Keegan’s affiliate, Morgan Asset Management, managed the funds.

Published on: May 16, 2011

OTC Derivatives Fraud – FT Piece

By justia.admin

Fraud in the privately traded markets? Aline van Duyn of the FT wrote a fascinating piece over the weekend about the lessons of the Galleon case going much wider than stocks. We agree. Next wave of large and complex fraud will be in non-exchange traded products. Here is the piece.

Lessons of Galleon case go wider than stocks

By Aline van Duyn in New York