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SEC charges San Diego penny stock promoter

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a penny stock promoter in the San Diego area for fraudulently arranging the purchase of $2.5 million worth of shares in a penny stock company in an attempt to generate the false appearance of market interest and induce other investors to purchase the stock. The SEC alleges that David […]

SEC charges two executives in Ponzi Scheme at Dallas-based medical insurance company

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two executives at a Dallas-based medical insurance company with operating a $10 million Ponzi scheme that victimized at least 80 investors. The SEC alleges that Duncan MacDonald and Gloria Solomon solicited investments for Global Corporate Alliance (GCA) by promoting it as a proven business with a strong track […]

Mandatory arbitration in the news again

The system of mandatory arbitration of disputes between brokerage firms and customers is again in the news.  This time the North American Securities Administrators Assocation, Inc. has been lobbying the SEC to act on its authority under Dodd-Frank to end or limit the use of pre-dispute mandatory arbitration agreements included in virtually all customer agreements […]

FINRA fines Wells Fargo and Banc of America

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined two firms a total of $2.15 million and ordered the firms to pay more than $3 million in restitution to customers for losses incurred from unsuitable sales of floating-rate bank loan funds. FINRA ordered Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, as successor for Wells Fargo […]

OC resident sentenced to 8 years for Ponzi scheme

A 70-year-old Orange County man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for running a Ponzi scheme that bilked more than two dozen investors out of nearly $3 million. The Orange County Register reports Timothy Melvin Murphy was also ordered Tuesday to pay $2.95 million in restitution. Murphy pleaded guilty last year to […]