Author: Attorney Jared Levy

SEC Investigates Barclays For Its Aggressive Bond Marketing Practices

Investor Alerts Attorney Jared Levy

It was recently reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Barclays Plc violated securities laws relating to its marketing practices for certain bonds backed by commercial property.

The SEC’s probe allegedly involves sales in 2018 of bonds backed by hotels. The probe allegedly began after Barclays’ former head of commercial real estate trading and distribution, Brian La Belle, filed a lawsuit over his termination. It has been reported that during the lawsuit’s proceedings, La Belle alleged that Barclays may have committed securities fraud in aggressively marketing a deal for bonds backed by hotels.

La Belle allegedly raised concerns that an independent report on the cost of upgrading hotels tied to the loan may have been improperly altered to make the deal appear less risky, according to Reuters. La Belle alleged that the report was changed after Barclays exerted pressure. La Belle further alleged that Barclays ignored his concerns and disregarded basic risk controls and compliance issues.

La Belle subsequently complained to the SEC, according to legal documents. La Belle was fired in August 2018 and is seeking millions of dollars in lost pay, arguing that he was fired for whistle-blowing.

This is not the first time that U.S. authorities have investigated the bank’s bond sales. Last year, Barclays settled with the Justice Department for $2 billion for its sales of securities backed by residential mortgages before the financial crisis of 2008.

Please contact one of our Business Trial Group attorneys at 800-816-1031 if you believe you have a claim relating to improper bond sales by Barclays or another bank or brokerage firm.

The Business Trial Group at Morgan & Morgan helps investors recover their financial losses on a contingency basis.  You will never be charged hourly fees or expensive retainers. We are only paid if we successfully recover money for you.  

The Business Trial Group is part of the largest contingency law firm in the nation, with more than 500 lawyers and 50 offices. We regularly battle against brokerage firms, investment advisory firms, and banks, and have helped investors recover tens of millions of dollars of investment losses.

FINRA Sanctions Summit Brokerage Services for Excessive Trading

Investor Alerts Attorney Jared Levy

FINRA recently announced sanctions against Summit Brokerage Services, Inc. for supervisory failures relating to excessive trading.  Summit has agreed to pay over $880,000 for its supervisory failures, including over $500,000 in restitution to customers whose accounts were excessively traded. According to FINRA, a former Summit registered representative – who FINRA previously had barred – committed the excessive trading. 

Specifically, FINRA found that from January 2012 through March 2017, Summit failed to review over 150 alerts that identified the excessive trading.  FINRA found that Summit therefore failed to detect that one of its stockbrokers had excessively traded 14 customer accounts, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions.  FINRA previously had barred the stockbroker. 

“In this matter, the affected customers paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions as a result of the excessive trading that occurred in their accounts,” said Susan Schroeder, FINRA’s executive vice president of the department of enforcement. “This enforcement action reflects the fact that obtaining restitution for harmed customers remains our highest priority.”

If you feel you have been a victim of excessive trading – whether committed by Summit or another brokerage firm – please contact us. Attorneys Jared Levy (561-812-1541) and Aiman Farooq (954-327-3041) will be happy to discuss your potential claims for excessive trading or any investment losses you suffered with a brokerage firm or registered investment advisor.

The Morgan & Morgan Business Trial Group helps investors recover their financial losses on a contingency basis.  You will never be charged hourly fees or expensive retainers. We are only paid if we successfully recover money for you.  

The Business Trial Group is backed by the size and skill of the largest contingency law firm in the nation – with more than 500 lawyers and 50 offices throughout the country.  We regularly battle against brokerage firms, investment advisory firms, and banks, and have helped investors recover tens of millions of dollars of investment losses.

SEC Bars Former LPL Rep Who Misappropriated Investors’ Funds

Investor Alerts Attorney Jared Levy

The SEC recently barred James T. Booth – a former registered representative of LPL Financial LLC and Invest Financial Corporation (IFC) – after Booth pled guilty to misappropriating nearly $5 million from dozens of investors.  

According to the SEC’s order, Booth pled guilty to one count of securities fraud on October 22, 2019 in a federal criminal proceeding before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. According to the Indictment, from 2013 through 2019, Booth allegedly told approximately 40 investors that their assets would be invested in securities, but instead used them to pay personal and business expenses.  He also used investor moneys to pay other investors. The misappropriated assets totaled $4.9 million. 

Booth worked for IFC from December 2005 through February 2018. He then moved to LPL, where he worked until his termination in May 2019.  Booth is 74 years old and a resident of Norwalk, Connecticut. 

The SEC has barred Booth from associating with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization.

If your funds have been misappropriated by Booth, you may have a claim against Booth or his employers, LPL and IFC. Please contact the Business Trial Group, and attorneys Jared Levy (561-812-1541) and Aiman Farooq (954-327-3041) will be happy to discuss your potential claims.

The Business Trial Group helps investors recover their financial losses on a contingency basis. You will never be charged hourly fees or expensive retainers. We are only paid if we successfully recover money for you.  

The Business Trial Group is backed by the size and skill of the largest contingency law firm in the nation, Morgan & Morgan – which has more than 500 lawyers and 50 offices throughout the country. We regularly battle against brokerage firms, investment advisory firms, and banks, and have helped investors recover tens of millions of dollars of investment losses.

CFTC Orders Interdealer Brokers to Pay $25M for Fraud in FX Options Markets

Investor Alerts Attorney Jared Levy

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently issued orders filing and settling charges against two interdealer brokers, BGC Financial, LP and GFI Securities, LLC.

According to the orders, BGC’s and GFI’s brokers in their respective emerging-markets foreign-exchange-options (EFX options) departments posted fake trades to induce clients to trade in EFX options. The firms paid a total of $25 million in civil penalties for their alleged misconduct.

Specifically, the CFTC found that BGC and GFI brokers posted bids and offers on their EFX options electronic platform even though no such bids and offers at the posted levels had been made. Brokers refer to this practice as “flying.” The CFTC also found that BGC and GFI brokers communicated fake trades to clients. Brokers refer to this practice as “printing” a trade.

According to the CFTC, when a “flown” bid or offer was hit on the platform, the screen would flash, falsely reflecting that a transaction had occurred. This may have deceived clients into believing an actual trade had been made.

The CFTC alleged that the fraudulent conduct of “flying prices” and “printing trades” created the appearance of greater liquidity and tighter spreads in EFX options, causing clients to trade in EFX options on the platforms at times and prices based on false information.

The respective orders require BGC to pay $15 million and GFI to pay $10 million in penalties. They also obligate the companies to strengthen their internal protocols.

If you have been a victim of fraudulent trading practices – whether committed by BGC, GFI, or other interdealer brokers – please contact the Business Trial Group. Attorneys Jared Levy (561-812-1541) and Aiman Farooq (954-327-3041) will be happy to discuss your potential claims, relating to your investment losses.

The Business Trial Group helps investors recover their financial losses on a contingency basis. You will never be charged hourly fees or expensive retainers. We are only paid if we successfully recover money for you.

The Business Trial Group is backed by the size and skill of the largest contingency law firm in the nation – with more than 500 lawyers and 50 offices throughout the country. We regularly battle against brokerage firms, investment advisory firms, and banks, and have helped investors recover tens of millions of dollars of investment losses.