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SEC charges Victorville and others in connection with municipal bond offering

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged that the City of Victorville, Calif., a city official, the Southern California Logistics Airport Authority, and Kinsell, Newcomb & DeDios (KND), the underwriter of the Airport Authority’s bonds, defrauded investors by inflating valuations of property securing an April 2008 municipal bond offering. Victorville Assistant City Manager and former […]

Gold takes largest single day plunge since 1980s

Gold plunged for the second straight day Monday, dropping more than 8% at midday in what was shaping up as the metal’s biggest one-day percentage decline in 30 years.  Gold for April delivery, the front-month contract, was down 8.6% at $1,372.10 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange at […]

Ponzi scheme architect sentenced to 10 years

A man accused of cheating California residents out of hundreds of millions of dollars in what prosecutors characterized as one of the largest real estate Ponzi schemes in state history has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. A Shasta County Superior Court judge issued the sentence against Gary Armitage, 62, on Monday, as some of […]

LPL growth causes legal and compliance headaches

In February, the country’s largest independent broker-dealer, with more than 13,000 contractor representatives and advisers, was ordered by Massachusetts to pay up to $2 million in restitution to clients and a fine of $500,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. and LPL Financial are the two largest sellers of nontraded REITs, accounting for about 20% of the annual […]

SEC halts plasma engine investment scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an enforcement action previously filed under seal in federal court in Las Vegas. The SEC has obtained an emergency order to halt an investment scheme that has defrauded at least 98 people nationwide out of at least $1.4 million since 2009. The SEC’s complaint alleges that Nevada resident […]