“Following last month’s report by the SEC to the House Appropriations Committee on private arbitration (and the use of forced arbitration clauses) in the RIA industry, investor advocates vow that if the commission won’t mandate more industry transparency, they’ll push Congress to step in. “I realize there’s all...
“A trade group representing plaintiffs’ lawyers on Tuesday called for the Securities and Exchange Commission to end a “broken” arbitration system for investors bringing claims against registered investment advisors and to force RIAs to be more transparent about customer complaints. The Public Investors Advocate Bar Association...
The Securities and Exchange Commission has no way to track the number of registered investment advisor arbitrations or unpaid arbitration awards, according to a just-released report. Last year, the House Appropriations Committee expressed concerns about the proliferation of mandatory arbitration clauses among SEC-registered investment advisors and...
Barry R. Bekkedam, the former owner, Chairman, and CEO of Ballamor Capital Management, LLC, is accused of committing securities fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). From April through October 2009, Bekkedam encouraged his clients and others to invest approximately $100 million in a fund...
Harry Stokes orchestrated a Ponzi scheme and defrauded investors out of millions of dollars, according to a complaint filed in North Carolina state court. Stokes was licensed to sell investment products and owned an insurance firm, Contemporary Benefits Design, located in Monroe, North Carolina. Stokes admitted to...
Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust Inc. has said that it has agreed to merge with Kite Reality Group Trust, a publicly traded REIT in a $2.1 billion all-stock deal. The merger is expected to close between the second or third quarter will be based on...
Plaintiffs can now bring class actions under state Blue Sky Laws against those who aided and abetted Ponzi schemes where the investment program was purported to be related to a security traded on a national stock exchange – a “covered security” under the Securities Litigation...
Portfolio Advisors Alliance, Inc. (Portfolio) was sanction by securities regulators, in part, due to Portfolio’s failure to perform due diligence concerning private placements, according to a settlement agreement entered into by Portfolio and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The Peiffer Wolf securities lawyers often represent...
Timothy David Burns, an investment professional in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, was sanctioned by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities. Burns, owner and manager of ESG Wealth Management and ESG Family Services, consented to the sanctions levied by the Department of Banking and Securities arising out of...
Thomas L. Hampton, a Scottsdale, Arizona investment professional, pled guilty to commodities fraud in connection with an investment scheme that defrauded investors out of millions of dollars between September, 2010 and September, 2011. Hampton managed Hampton Capital Markets (HCM). HCM held over $4 million of investors’...
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