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Page 27 of 212

March 8, 2022

The owner and operator of Rust Rare Coin, Inc. (RRC), Gaylen Dean Rust, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for running a 12-year Ponzi scheme that defrauded 568 victims of over $153 million.  Many of the victims were his own family, friends, and fellow church members, whom he’d convinced to invest in RRC’s silver trading program through false promises.  Rust was also convicted of laundering $18 million in fraud proceeds through three personal bank accounts.  USAO UT

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud,

March 8, 2022

The operators of online stock trading site RagingBull.com, which used bogus earnings claims to lure customers into expensive and hard to cancel subscriptions, have been ordered to pay $2.4 million.  The proposed settlement order also prohibits the defendants from making similar claims in the future, requires them to obtain informed consent from consumers before signing them up to subscriptions, and requires them to provide consumers with easy methods of cancellation.  FTC

Tagged in: Misrepresentations,

March 8, 2022

The SEC has awarded more than $3.5 million to a whistleblower whose information significantly contributed to two successful enforcement actions by prompting staff to further investigate securities violations, saving time and resources, and helping to advance settlement discussions.  SEC

Tagged in: SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Whistleblower Rewards,

March 4, 2022

Venture capital fund adviser Alumni Ventures Group, LLC and its CEO Michael Collins have agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $800,000, and have returned $4.8 million to affected funds to resolve claims that they made misleading representations about AVG’s fees, and made inter-fund loans and transfers in violation of the funds’ respective operating agreements.  The SEC alleged that while AVG told customers that its management fee was the “industry standard ‘2 and 20.,” its practice was different from the industry standard in that it assessed the entire 20 percent in management fees – that is, 10 years’ worth of management fees of two percent per annum – upfront at the time an investor made the capital contribution.  SEC

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Misrepresentations,

March 3, 2022

City National Rochdale, LLC agreed to a civil penalty just over $30 million to resolve SEC allegations that the registered investment adviser failed to disclose to discretionary account clients that it invested their assets in proprietary mutual funds that generated fees for CNR and its affiliates, rather than in competitor funds whose fees may be lower.  The government also alleged that CNR failed to fully inform certain prospective customers of fees with respect to its proprietary funds.  The disclosure failures resulted in an undisclosed conflict of interest according to the SEC.  SEC

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Misrepresentations, Regulatory Violations, Securities Fraud,

February 28, 2022

The Income Collecting 1-3 Months T-Bills Mutual Fund and one of its principals, Victor Chilelli, have consented to judgments ordering the return $77 million to investors; litigation against other defendants continues.  The SEC alleges that defendants, including Ofer Abarbanel, defrauded investors by misrepresenting the planned use of their funds, directing customer funds to shell companies under their control in uncollateralized loan transactions, and misappropriating investor funds for high-risk trading. SEC

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Misrepresentations, Securities Fraud,

February 24, 2022

The National Bank of Pakistan and its New York branch will pay a total of $55.4 million to resolve investigations by the New York State Department of Financial Services and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York into Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering compliance deficiencies.  The bank had previously entered into agreements with the government entities, acknowledging BSA/AML weaknesses and agreeing to undertake remedial measures.  However, the bank had failed to undertake adequate remedial  measures, as found in examinations by the government entities.  NY DFS; Fed

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Money Laundering,

February 23, 2022

The CFTC settled charges against Richard D. Neal and his company Golden Signals, LLC for failing to register as a commodity trading advisor and commodity pool operator. Neal and Golden Signals, LLC will pay over $2.6 million in restitution, disgorgement, and a civil monetary penalty for the fraud perpetrated over a 5-year period beginning in October 2016. They engaged in binary options solicitation and trading fraud via webpages and social media channels, touting “the highest profit percentage ratings in the world.” Additionally, customers lost over $1.2 million through Neal and Golden Signals’ fraudulent solicitations for binary options signal, trainings, and strategy course offerings. CFTC

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Misrepresentations, Regulatory Violations,

February 22, 2022

Healthcare company Baxter International Inc. and two of its former executives have settled claims with the SEC related to reporting of its intra-company foreign exchange transactions.  Baxter agreed to pay a penalty of $18 million; the company’s former treasurer and assistant treasurer will pay penalties of $125,000 and $100,000, respectively.  The SEC alleged that in recording foreign currency transactions recognized by its subsidiaries, Baxter used a foreign exchange rate convention that was not in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; the company then leveraged this FX convention by engaging in intra-company transactions for the sole purpose of generating FX gains or avoiding FX losses, resulting in material misstatements of its net income.  SEC

Tagged in: Accounting Fraud, Financial and Investment Fraud, Misrepresentations,

February 17, 2022

South Korean telecommunications company KT Corporation will pay $6.3 million to resolve charges that the company and its executives engaged in multiple improper payment schemes in Korea and Vietnam in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company allegedly failed to have adequate accounting controls, resulting in the creation of slush funds used for gifts and illegal political contributions to government officials who had influence over KT Corp.’s business.  SEC

Tagged in: FCPA, Financial and Investment Fraud,

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