The Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach metropolitan area ranked #2 in the nation in foreclosure activity in January, with one in 228 homes receiving some type of foreclosure filing during the month, according to a recent Miami Herald article titled “Florida leads nation in foreclosure activity.” The Ocala, Florida area held the unfortunate distinction of […]
Failure to retain or review millions of emails for periods ranging from two months to more than six years resulted in $1.2 million of FINRA fines for the following five indirect subsidiaries of ING Groep N.V.: Directed Services, LLC ING America Equities, Inc. ING Financial Advisers, LLC ING Financial Partners, Inc. ING Investment Advisors, LLC […]
The SEC obtained an emergency court order to freeze assets in a Zurich, Switzerland trading account that was used to reap more than $1.7 million from trading in advance of last week’s public announcement about the acquisition of H.J. Heinz Company. The SEC’s immediate action ensures that potentially illegal profits cannot be siphoned out of […]
Bonds with a low interest rate and high duration may experience significant price drops if interest rates rise, according to a new FINRA Investor Alert called Duration—What an Interest Rate Hike Could Do to Your Bond Portfolio. FINRA issued the Alert to help investors understand the importance of duration risk. Although stated in years, duration […]
If you, or your business, have entered into a contract and believe the other side has breached that contract, you may be entitled to file a breach of contract lawsuit. Alternatively, if you are the party believed to have breached, you may have a business litigation lawsuit on your hands. It is important to note that […]
Merrill Lynch failed to arbitrate retention bonus disputes with employees, according to recent charges by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) that resulted in a $1 million fine. According to a January 25, 2012 release: “Registered representatives who participated in the bonus program had to sign a promissory note that prevented them from arbitrating disagreements […]
Michael Farnell and James Farnell, residents of Boca Raton, Fla., were sentenced to prison terms last week for income tax evasion following an April indictment, according to the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Judge William P. Dimitrouleas sentenced Michael Farnell to a term of 18 months in prison. His brother James Farnell was […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently charged Fort Lauderdale-based First Resource Group LLC and its principal David H. Stern with conducting a fraudulent boiler room scheme. The company allegedly hyped stock in TrinityCare Senior Living Inc. and Cytta Corporation, both thinly-traded penny stock companies, while simultaneously selling the same stock themselves for illegal profits. According […]
The State of Florida today entered into a $25 billion joint federal-state agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers over foreclosure abuses and unacceptable nationwide mortgage servicing practices, according to a news release issued by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. The five banks covered in the agreement are Ally Financial Inc., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup […]
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) accused Charles Schwab Corporation of limiting customers legal rights in a complaint filed on February 1, 2012. FINRA’s complaint alleges that Charles Schwab & Company violates FINRA rules by requiring its customers to waive their rights to bring class action lawsuits against the firm. Schwab reportedly modified its customer […]