Industry Topics

I Just Got An SEC Subpoena: Now What Happens?

February 7, 2014 | Malecki Law Team

The recent string of cases brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the US Attorney’s Office against members of SAC Capital for insider trading has shone a bright light on the world of SEC investigations. Though all financial professionals surely hope that they will never be involved in an SEC investigation, the truth of the matter is that many unfortunately will.

Receiving a subpoena from any government agency can be a worrisome event in anyone’s life, but for a financial professional, receiving a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission can be especially intimidating. More often than not, the recipient may be confused as to, “Why is the SEC contacting me?”

Individuals are typically contacted by the SEC for two reasons: 1) You are the subject of its investigation; or 2) The SEC believes you may have valuable information related to its investigation of an entity or someone else.

Jenice Malecki to Appear on Fox Business News with Dennis Kneale

November 19, 2013 | Malecki Law Team

Jenice Malecki of Malecki Law will be appearing on Fox Business News at 12pm today, speaking with Dennis Kneale to revisit the $13 billion settlement announced by JP Morgan today.

The focus of the discussion will be the aftermath of the settlement, and what it means for JP Morgan moving forward. The settlement was for conduct that occurred from 2005 to 2008, largely predating the financial crisis and acquisitions of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. In fact, according to the Department of Justice, as reported by Fox Business News, JP Morgan regularly represented that the loans it bundled and sold to investors complied with underwriting guidelines, when they actually did not.

It remains to be seen whether this will impact other litigation that JP Morgan continues to defend against private litigation, or in future criminal proceedings arising from the conduct of JP Morgan’s employees. It also remains to be seen whether JP Morgan will provide liquidity for a fire sale, as it did with Bear Stearns during the financial crisis.

Jenice Malecki to Appear on Fox Business Channel

October 21, 2013 | Malecki Law Team

Jenice Malecki of Malecki Law will be appearing at 10:45 am on Varney & Co. on Fox Business on Tuesday, October 22, to discuss the proposed $13 billion J.P. Morgan Chase settlement.

Ms. Malecki will be discussing whether J.P. Morgan and others should be surprised that the firm is being subjected to penalties relating to conduct that occurred at Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, which J.P. Morgan acquired during the recent financial crisis.

Ms. Malecki will speak on central issues at the heart of the present debate such as the role of the government in these two acquisitions, including what promises, if any, were made to J.P. Morgan by government officials, as well as the overall price paid for the two companies relative to their actual value.

Jenice Malecki to Appear on Fox Business News with Dennis Kneale

October 14, 2013 | Malecki Law Team

Jenice Malecki of Malecki Law will be appearing on Fox Business News at 12pm today, speaking with Dennis Kneale about whether or not banks, such as JP Morgan, should be getting amnesty from regulators.

In the fallout from the financial crisis, banks, such as JP Morgan have seen their legal fees related to defending complaints from both customers and the SEC, along with other regulators, rise substantially. JP Morgan shocked many in the marketplace when it recently revealed that its “litigation reserve” was $23 billion, and that it had paid out roughly $8 billion in recent settlements and judgments.

In light of this revelation, some have called for amnesty to be provided to large banks, in an effort to relieve them of these substantial legal burdens and jumpstart the markets by freeing up large reserves of capital.

SEC Awards Whistleblower $14 million in Largest Award to Date

October 2, 2013 | Malecki Law Team

The SEC announced on October 1, 2013 that it awarded a whistleblower over $14 million for original information that led to the recovery of “substantial investor funds.” The whistleblower program was established after the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, which rewards individuals who provide original information that leads to sanctions exceeding $1 million. The SEC has the authority to award from 10 to 30 percent of the money collected in a case.

One of the most important things about information provided by a whistleblower is that such information is “original.” This means that the information must be derived from the whistleblower’s original knowledge or analysis, that it is not known by the SEC from some other source, and that it is not derived solely from a publicly available source, including allegations made in a different judicial setting.

The size of the current award appears to indicate two things: first, the quality of information and extent of cooperation provided by the whistleblower to the SEC, whose identity remains confidential; and second, the SEC’s eagerness to grow and benefit from the whistleblower program. Without disclosing the size of the award, in its Order, the SEC noted that the size of the award was based on the significance of the information provided by the whistleblower and the assistance the whistleblower provided to the SEC in the action, in part. The SEC, under its new Chairperson Mary Jo White, has shown a desire to become more aggressive in pursuing individuals and to get companies to admit to wrongdoing. It is no surprise then, that the SEC appears to be providing increasingly larger awards to whistleblowers, to provide individuals the incentive to waive red flags about wrongdoing at a time when the SEC may be able to recover and/or safeguard investor funds.

Criminal Charges Filed Against SAC Capital Adisors

August 2, 2013 | Malecki Law Team

As has been widely reported, Criminal charges were filed against SAC Capital Advisors LP, with accusations that the hedge-fund firm is guilty of a decade long “scheme” of insider trading. In total, prosecutors charged SAC Capital and its business units with a total of four counts of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. The charges come after a multiyear investigation by the FBI, prosecutors, and the SEC. The government is also accusing former SAC portfolio manager, Richard Lee, of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The indictment comes only a short time after SAC agreed to a $616 million settlement of insider-trading charges.

Civilly, prosecutors are looking to have SAC and any of its affiliated corporate entities surrender all of their assets. SAC manages some $14 billion in assets, a majority of which does not come from outside investors.

In a separate civil action, the SEC is seeking a lifetime ban for Steven A. Cohen, who started SAC twenty-one years ago with roughly $20 million of personal funds, from managing client money. Mr. Cohen has not been charged criminally but denies any allegation of wrongdoing. Before the financial crisis of 2008, SAC held over $16 billion in assets and reportedly charged some of the highest fees in the business – 3% annually on the total investment, plus as much as 50% of whatever profits the firm generates.

LPL Reportedly Under Fire From State Regulators

April 1, 2013 | Malecki Law Team

The broker-dealer LPL, Linsco Private Ledger, has been in the news a lot recently – for all the wrong reasons. LPL was even recently featured in The New York Times for its frequent “tangles” with state and federal regulators.

LPL is the nation’s fourth largest brokerage firm, with more than 13,000 brokers who currently service over 4 million customers. LPL attracts brokers from other brokerage firms by reportedly paying a higher percentage of the commissions generated directly to the broker – roughly 80% at LPL versus as low as 15-25% elsewhere. While this model can be very lucrative for well-minded brokers, this model can also attract deceitful brokers who do not have their clients’ best interests in mind and seek to skirt the law.

LPL’s network of brokers is very spread out by brokerage firm standards, with many brokers operating out of an office of only one or two individuals – versus other brokerage firms which may have up to several hundred brokers under one roof.

Jenice Malecki to Appear Tonight on The Willis Report on Fox Business

March 26, 2013 | Malecki Law Team

Jenice Malecki of Malecki Law will be appearing on Fox Business News tonight, March 26, 2013 between 6pm and 7pm.

Ms. Malecki will be appearing on The Willis Report to discuss the recent Rasmussen Reports that indicate 50 percent of Americans want the government to break up the country’s big banks. The report also found that only 23 percent of Americans oppose such a breakup, with 27 percent remaining undecided.

Critics have said that the size of several US banks are a threat to the country’s economy. This notion became widely known during the recent recession as “Too Big To Fail.” The US Attorney General recently made a shocking revelation that some banks are even too large to even prosecute effectively.

Jenice Malecki to Appear on Fox Business News on March 21, 2013 at 5pm – Topic: SEC Digging Into Fund Fees

March 20, 2013 | Malecki Law Team

Jenice Malecki of Malecki Law will be appearing on Fox Business News tomorrow, March 21, 2013, at 5pm.

If you have suffered losses in an investment with a hedge fund or other financial adviser, it is your right to consult with an attorney to explore your rights. Contact the securities lawyers at Malecki Law for a free consultation.

Regulators Consider High-Frequency Trading as Potentially Wash Sale Transactions

March 20, 2013 | Malecki Law Team

The Wall Street Journal reported on March 18, 2013 that U.S. Regulators, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are reviewing trading of high-frequency firms to determine if they are engaging in prohibited transactions, such as “wash” trades. The Article stated that the Regulators are reviewing records of primarily two exchanges, the CME Group, where the majority of wash trades have occurred, and the InterncontinentalExchange, Inc.

The Article identified that regulators are concerned that the exchanges do not have appropriate systems in place to identify or stop wash trades, especially in light of recent technical glitches leading to pronounced losses, including the Knight Capital Group and Facebook debacles in 2012.

Wash trades are when the same party places bids and asks for the same security, which causes there to appear increased activity in the security, which may affect its value, causing gains or losses to other investors who may be legitimately interested. In this way, a market participant manipulates the price of the security, prompting other participants to enter the market.