Investment and Stock Broker Fraud Attorney
Securities Dispute Forum
Category: Investment Fraud News
Since its introduction, mandatory arbitration has been the standard method for resolving securities fraud disputes. While arbitration was originally meant to benefit the investor by providing a cheaper and faster process for disputes, it has become a tool used against the underdog investors and has turned the process into a David versus Goliath battle.
The arbitration method works against the investor, who cannot afford the cost of bringing a claim to FINRA arbitration and is not guaranteed to win. Additionally, investors face heightened requirements to obtain discovery in arbitration, which limits their ability to explain actions taken by securities firms. However, large securities firms have the resources needed to fight the claim.
Ever the champion for the investor, the Dodd-Frank Act seeks to even out the playing field for securities fraud victims and securities firms. The Act gives the SEC authority to ban or restrict mandatory arbitration in agreements between clients and broker-dealers and agreements between clients and their advisors. If an agreement requires arbitration over the Whistleblower provisions in the Act, Dodd-Frank prohibits mandatory arbitration.
PIABA (Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association) is the ultimate advocate for the average investor in securities and commodities arbitration. Its sole purpose is to protect investors from industry abuse of the arbitration process by making it fair and impartial. As president of PIABA, Peter Mougey has successfully championed the cause of public investors by calling for arbitration reform. He pushed for the recently adopted SEC ability to ban mandatory arbitration as well as the overturning of the previous requirement to have at least one industry member on an arbitration panel.
Arbitration is not always a bad method to settle securities disputes; however, it should not be an investor's only option. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC can make necessary reforms to the arbitration process. As PIABA's president and the head of the securities department at Levin Papantonio, Peter Mougey continuously strives to level the playing field for the public investor against Goliath securities firms.
Hedge Funds Under Scrutiny
Category: Investment Fraud News
It has been estimated that a large percentage of the daily trading in the stock market is due to hedge funds. Relieved of many disclosure requirements, fund owners can only hope the trading straegies pay off.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D) urged Congress yesterday to heighten federal scrutiny of the secretive hedge fund industry or face the prospect of a patchwork group of state authorities stepping in to monitor the rapidly growing investment pools to prevent fraud.Blumenthal, whose state is the headquarters for scores of hedge funds, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that last week's federal appeals court ruling striking down oversight of the funds by federal regulators left investors "in a regulatory void, without any disclosure or accountability."
As fiduciaries, financial advisors and brokers owe a duty
Category: Investment Fraud News
As fiduciaries, financial advisors and brokers owe a duty to: (1) provide full, candid, and truthful communication to their customers of all known facts; (2) refrain from making any misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission concerning any matter; (3) always place the client's welfare and best interests above its/their own and refrain from self-dealing; (4) transact business only after receiving approval; and, (5) recommend an investment only after studying it sufficiently. Gochnauer v. A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., 810 F.2d 1042, 1049 (11th Cir. 1987).
Hedge fund is a generic term used to describe many unique investments.
Category: Investment Fraud News
Put simply, the term is derived from the purpose - hedging the risk of investing. The underlying premise is that hedge funds provide lower long-term returns in exchange for less volatility. Hedge funds are not new but their popularity is. This newfound popularity has morphed hedge funds into investment vehicles shrouded in secrecy.
Are hedge funds suitable for you?
Category: Investment Fraud News
Hedge funds are suitable for qualified purchasers with a net worth above a million dollars and annual income over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Purchasers are often required to sign an acknowledgement affirming they are qualified to invest in hedge funds. The trouble is: the risk associated with the funds is often misrepresented and investors are misled into skewing their qualifications.
Investor fraud and broker misconduct
Category: Investment Fraud News
Investor fraud and broker misconduct are more common than you may think. The U.S. is experiencing an epidemic of fraud among corporate and financial executives, and large investment firms.
Direct TV - Rebounding
Category: Investment Fraud News
For all of you who lost money on Direct TV, you will be glad to hear the stock may bounce back. DirecTV Group is the nation's largest satellite TV company, Inc. and it returned to a profit in the first quarter of this year.
The company earned $235.2 million, or 17 cents per share, for the three months ended March 31, compared to a loss of $41.4 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 8 percent to $3.39 billion from $3.15 billion.
A lot of people who sign up for Direct TV service end up dropping it. The company's U.S. pay TV service added 919,000 subscribers during the quarter, but after accounting for subscribers who later dropped their service, the service only added 255,000 net subscribers. (They call it "churn".) The number of new sign ups was actually a drop of 19 percent from the same period last year.
The worldwide number of DirecTV subscribers increased 7 percent in the quarter to 15.39 million.
"Similar to recent quarters, this solid growth was driven by our large and growing subscriber base, strong ARPU (average revenue per subscriber) growth and higher operating margins due mostly to the significant scale and operating leverage of our business," Chief Executive Chase Carey said in a statement.Analysts expected DirecTV to earn 10 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.
Carey said the cost to add new subscribers was higher because of the cost of new set-top boxes with increased functionality. Those costs were also spread over few new subscribers as the company continues to tighten its credit policies to weed out those most likely to cancel their service early.
Carey said he continues to foresee a tough competitive environment as cable TV companies push bundled packages of services including phone and high-speed Internet access.
The company has not yet decided on its own strategy to offer broadband Internet service, Carey said.
DirecTV had been rumored to be discussing a partnership with rival Echostar Communications Corp., which operates the Dish TV service, to develop a broadband service to compete with cable.
But Carey said no progress has been made.
"It continues to be an area we spend significant time on," Carey said during a conference call with analysts. "We will move forward and do something when and if we have an arrangement that makes sense for us."
DirecTV offers customers its TV service along with DSL Internet from regional phone companies in many areas of the country.
Looking ahead, the company said two new additional satellites next year will drive future growth as they will make high definition TV signals available to three quarters of all U.S. households.
DirecTV shares fell 58 cents, or 3.4 percent, to close at $16.59 on the New York Stock Exchange. Company shares have gained 17 percent this year.
NASD out to help public?
Category: Investment Fraud News
If I have to go to another NASD hearing and listen to defense attorney objections to valid evidence, I will fromally write to the head of the NASD for corrective action.
Indictment for Investment Fraud
Category: Investment Fraud News
According to Empire State News, a couple who allegedly sold non-existent securities to friends and acquaintances was recently indicted by a grand jury in New York.
Peter and Tara Perun of Lake George, New York were charged with theft and securities fraud involving more than $900,000. The Peruns apparently convinced investors to purchase stock that did not exist in two frozen food companies operated by Modern Day Gourmet and Harvest Holdings, Inc.
Causes of Stock Broker Fraud Complaints
Category: Investment Fraud News
With stockbroker fraud on the rise, it is important for investors to understand the risks of using a stockbroker and do their research on prospective brokers and their firms. There are many causes of action in arbitrations and mediations involving securities fraud disputes.
Increase in Securities Fraud
Category: Investment Fraud News
In the last twenty years, there has been a large increase in investment and stock broker fraud in the securities industry. Since The U.S. Supreme Court has remanded all such securities fraud lawsuits to mediation or arbitration, most complaints now go to the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), or the American Arbitration Association (AAA).