In an April 12, 2012, article for Forbes, Halah Touryalai writes that Goldman Sachs was hit with a $22 million penalty for claims that its analysts shared non-public short-term trading ideas with favored clients. Touryalai reports that Goldman Sachs agreed to settle the charges that its equity analysts met during weekly “huddles” with the firm’s traders […]

THE FOLLOWING IS AN ARTICLE FROM THE SEC’S WEBSITE: "The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that a federal judge in Massachusetts entered a final judgment on March 14, 2012 ordering defendant James J. Konaxis, formerly a registered representative of Beverly-based broker-dealer Sentinel Securities, Inc., to disgorge more than $483,000 in commissions earned over a two-year […]

The following information is from FINRA’s website under “Disciplinary Actions, March, 2012:"   Allan Anthony Scheer (CRD #2775825, Registered Principal, Melbourne, Florida)   submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he was fined $5,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for four months. The fine is to be paid upon […]

In an April 4th., 2012, article from InvestmentNews.com, Liz Skinner writes that brokerage firm David Lerner Associates Inc. was ordered to pay more than $3.7 million in fines and restitution for overcharging retail customers on sales of more than 1,500 municipal bonds and 1,700 collateralized-mortgage-obligation transactions. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) hearing panel found the […]

In a March 30, 2012, article from InvestmentNews.com, Bruce Kelly writes that another major nontraded real estate investment trust has seen a sharp drop in its value — but is also stopping paying distributions to investors. The KBS Real Estate Investment Trust Inc., or KBS REIT I, told investors Monday it was cutting the value […]

THE FOLLOWING IS AN ARTICLE FROM THE SEC'S WEBSITE: "The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that the United States District Court for the District of Colorado entered an Order amending a February 11, 2011 Final Judgment wherein Greenberg, without admitting or denying the Commission’s allegations, consented to the entry of a Final Judgment […]

The following information is from FINRA's website under "Disciplinary Actions, March, 2012:   Spartan Securities Group, LTD (CRD #104478, Clearwater, Florida)   submitted a Letterof Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured, fined $52,500 and required to revise its WSPs regarding its supervisory system, procedures and qualifications;order handling; best execution; anti-intimidation/coordination; trade […]

The financial industry has been anticipating this time in history ever since the Baby Boom generation began. There are more people who will be turning more money over to stockbrokers than at any other time in history.  We have watched the abuse investors have taken. Take for example, the investors in Worldcom or Enron. They soon learned that things are […]

  In a recent New York times article, Greg Smith writes about his experience with Goldman Sachs as an executive director and head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Here are some excerpts from his article that highlight Goldman Sachs intention to make money off their clients […]