Convenience store chain Wawa has agreed to pay $21.6 million to settle a 2018 class-action lawsuit regarding the company’s employee stock option plan (“ESOP”). The settlement is still pending court approval. Wawa previously paid $25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in 2016 that involved similar allegations relating to Wawa’s ESOP.
The New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation has launched an investigation of Merrill Lynch relating to the sales practices of two former Merrill Lynch advisors, Charles Kenahan and Dermod Cavanaugh. The New Hampshire state regulator is investigating claims of excessive trading made by Craig Benson, former governor of New Hampshire. According to that report, settlement talks between the state regulator and Merrill Lynch are on-going.
This is the fourth of several posts detailing the CFP Board enforcement process. This post will focus on what happens in the event a respondent is found to be in default.
Dain F. Stokes, a former advisor at LPL Financial, has been barred by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for allegedly soliciting investments in a fraudulent charity which Stokes claimed was associated with popular musician Taylor Swift. The SEC said it also plans to order Stokes to pay restitution and a fine of $20,000. Stokes was also barred by FINRA in September 2019 for allegedly failing to respond to FINRA’s request for information.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a cease and desist order against Potamus Trading LLC and its former CEO, Eric J. Pritchett. According to the SEC, Potamus and Pritchett “portrayed the firm as filling its clients’ orders on a principal basis by trading from its own inventory of securities or risking its capital in the market.” However, the SEC said that the firm “filled the vast majority of its clients’ orders by engaging in net trading” and “rarely traded from inventory or risked its capital[.]” The SEC alleged that this conduct took place between September 2013 and March 2017.
James Eccleston achieved the highest rating in both Legal Ability and Ethical Standards from Martindale Hubbell for 2020. This is a reflection of the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and Judiciary.
Illinois broker Mark Miller and his investment firm, Foremost Trading LLC, have agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle claims brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). The payment consists of $450,000 in fines and $700,000 in restitution. Additionally, Miller is suspended from trading on any CFTC-designated exchange, all other CFTC-registered entities, and all commodity interests for a period of two years.
Final judgment has been entered against Temenos Advisory Inc. and its former CEO George Taylor, the SEC announced. The SEC had charged Temenos and Taylor with putting investor funds in unsuitable investments and concealing commissions. In total, Temenos and Taylor are ordered to pay more than $2 million. The entry of judgment concludes a case that began with the SEC charging Temenos and Taylor in July 2018.
In connection with an alleged $6.3 million Ponzi scheme, Phillip Roy Wasserman and Kenneth Murry Rossman (collectively, “Defendants”) have been charged by federal prosecutors with mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Defendants are alleged to have targeted elderly individuals and convinced those individuals to liquidate traditional investments in order to invest in “FastLife,” an insurance venture by Wasserman. Wasserman and Rossman are alleged to have made fraudulent misrepresentations and to have concealed material information when soliciting investments in FastLife.
This is the second of several posts detailing the CFP Board enforcement process. The first post detailed the CFP Board’s investigation process. This post will focus on one potential outcome of a CFP Board investigation: an interim suspension.
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Fidelity Investments plans to redirect cash balances in non-retirement brokerage accounts managed by independent financial advisors to its in-house sweep account, FCash, starting in 2025.
Chris Kennedy, a barred advisor formerly associated with Western International Securities, has agreed to a $2.1 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations of high-volume trading, or churning, in client accounts.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is seeking to overhaul its rules on outside business activities (OBA) and private securities transactions.
