PLI's inSecurities Podcast - Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga’s Core Values
Law Brief®: The Theranos Trial
Legally Qualified: Protecting Against Elder Investment Fraud and Exploitation
Affinity fraud is a type of investment fraud. In this form of fraud, the person committing the fraud preys upon members of an identifiable group, such as a religious or ethnic community, the elderly, or a professional group....more
In Short - The Situation: Insolvency officeholders increasingly find their investigations into a company's affairs frustrated by the comingling of records on a "group" server. Claims to privilege by other group entities (or...more
The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit in federal court against 11 individuals, alleging securities violations related to a USD300 million crypto Ponzi scheme known as Forsage. ...more
If you read the hype, then you will have read that lack of regulation, speed of transactions, irreversibility of trades, and hidden identities are positive features of the crypto world. Crypto enthusiasts say that finance can...more
“The investigative work of 2021 has all the makings of a made for TV movie – embezzlement of funds from a nonprofit, a family fraud ring that stole millions in COVID-relief funds and a $1 billion Ponzi scheme used to buy...more
On November 23, 2021, the SEC issued an award of $400,000 to a whistleblower who voluntarily provided the SEC with original information that assisted the agency in bringing a successful enforcement action that resulted in the...more
Where’s the Beef? Two Charged with $650 Million Cattle Ponzi Scheme - On May 12, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a federal district court in Colorado unsealed an indictment alleging that two individuals ran...more
John Louis Anthony Bigatton will not be providing financial services in Australia and likely not anywhere else, anytime soon. On Thursday, September 3, 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”)...more
Earlier this month, a superseding indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York, charging Pablo Rodriguez, Gutemberg Dos Santos, Scott Hughes, Cecilia Milan, and Jackie Aguilar for their roles in a...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently charged two Maryland companies and their executives in a scheme that allegedly defrauded approximately 1,200 investors of more than $27 million. ...more
A few weeks ago, my colleague Sonia Russo blogged about how shareholders seeking to bring successive derivative actions should be wary, since dismissal of a derivative action for failure to allege pre-suit demand or demand...more
FGLS Equity LLC was one of many feeder funds caught up in the maelstrom that followed the exposure and meltdown in 2008 of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. It lost virtually all of its money in its account with Bernard L....more
The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is asking a court to freeze the assets of a cryptocurrency mining and multilevel marketing scheme that allegedly defrauded investors of $12 million. The SEC's complaint alleges...more
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged a man from Colorado with fraud and failing to register with it in respect of a scheme that involved Ponzi-type payments....more
Volvo’s owner, Li Shufu, is mulling over a move to combine the carmaker with his publicly traded Geely Automobile Holdings—a play that would take Volvo public and “unify the bulk of billionaire Li’s growing stable of...more
The college football bowl season is upon us, NFL teams are jockeying for playoff seeding, and with the college basketball season underway fans of that game are looking longingly towards March for how their brackets may look...more
On November 6, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint, captioned SEC v. Pierre, against a New York investment advisor for allegedly operating a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. The SEC alleges...more
A group of three major drug distributors—McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health—are in the midst of talks with representatives of state and local governments who have brought more than 2000 opioid-related lawsuits...more
Deutsche Bank on Wednesday confirmed the basics of a recent German newspaper report that revealed that the bank “had used faulty software to screen customer transactions for suspicious activity” while claiming that “no...more
As we have blogged, courts have held that financial institutions generally do not owe a duty of care to a noncustomer and that no special duty of care arises from the duties and obligations set forth in the Bank Secrecy Act...more
A California appellate court recently affirmed the dismissal of claims against multiple insurers made by victims of a Ponzi scheme that was orchestrated by an independent insurance agent....more
Walmart’s broader foray into the grocery biz—letting customers order online and pick up in person and expanding home delivery—is paying dividends for the retailer and helping push its revenue up 3.8% from this period a year...more
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief on news out of the UK yesterday that Uber will regain its taxi license in London—a “crucial victory for efforts by its new chief executive to revamp the...more
After more than 110 years as one of its mainstays, General Electric is out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It will be replaced by drugstore retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance....more
When you read and learn about cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum), there are some commentators, politicians and others who characterize cryptocurrencies as a “Ponzi” scheme....more