Jenice Malecki of Malecki Law will be appearing on the American Radio News Afternoon Drive Show with Ernie & Rachel tonight at 5:15pm est to discuss the current SEC investigation of Aubrey McClendon, Cheseapeake Energy‘s CEO. Central to the investigation is a controversial program within the company that grants McClendon…
New York Securities Fraud Lawyers Blog
Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC is Ordered to Repurchase Fannie Mae Preferred Shares in FINRA Arbitration
On February 6, 2013, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that a public customer was awarded an award of full rescission against Wachovia Securities, LLC, doing business as Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC (“Wells Fargo”) for the entirety of Fannie Mae Preferred shares recommended by Wells Fargo. By awarding full…
UBS to Reclassify Bond Investors as “Aggressive”
Fox Business reported recently that UBS is planning to reclassify many of its clients who are invested heavily in bonds as “aggressive” investors. While the report indicates this is being done as a result of growing bearishness in the bond market, some are speculating that this move is being done…
Apple Reverse Convertible Notes Mean Potentially Huge Losses for Investors Who Bought Them From UBS and Other Banks
Those who invested in many of the commonly called “Apple reverse convertibles,” now find themselves facing huge potential losses. But all hope is not lost, as investors may be able to recoup their losses. The plight of these investors has been well documented recently. What would you do if your…
Falling Timber: Timberland REIT Reportedly Plunges In Value
As recently reported by InvestmentNews, the estimated value of common stock in real estate investment trust (or REIT) of Wells Timberland REIT, Inc. fell to $6.56 per share. Given the illiquidity of the trust, finding that price in the market may prove difficult. That figure marks a 35% plunge in…
Give My Receipts to Broadway: NY Musical Producer Accused of Fraud and Breach and Contract
Despite theater’s common expression that “the show must go on”, a large-scale musical planned to hit Broadway this month has been postponed following accusations of fraud and breach of contract levied against its stockbroker. For further definitions of fraud and “BoC”, visit the Investors page of our firm’s website. …
Closing Bells and Whistles: Accusations of Churning Emerge Within Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
An intriguing new instance of whistleblowing has emerged from Clifford Jagodzinski, an ex-employee of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC who claims that at least one highly successful broker for the firm was churning preferred securities in 2011. Churning in this case would violate not only state law, but also rules…
A Raft of Risks: Assessing FINRA’s New Alert on Exchange Traded Notes
Headline news charting the dramatic peaks and valleys of select Credit Suisse and Barclays properties prompted the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) to issue a July warning to investors detailing the potential risks inherent to exchange-traded notes (or ETNs). The investor alert, entitled “Exchange Traded Notes – Avoid Unpleasant…
Peregrine Captured Mid-Flight: PFGBest Brings New Focus to Futures Industry Regulation
After years of concerns raised but never fully investigated by futures industry regulation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association (NFA) took enforcement action July 9th against brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group, also known as PFGBest. Peregrine founder Russell Wasendorf subsequently confessed to committing acts of embezzlement…
Drawing Outside the Lines: Contrasts in Evolving Definitions of “Insider Trading”
Professor of economics Peter J. Henning wrote July 30th for the New York Times of the ever-changing definition of what classifies as “insider trading” in today’s market. Henning’s approach is at once streamlined and nuanced, walking us through a user-friendly tutorial of how and why fiduciary duties are upheld. Because…