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March 16, 2022

Online travel agency Fareportal Inc., which operates travel websites such as CheapOair.com and OneTravel.com, has agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle claims of misleading consumers with deceptive marketing tactics intended to create false demand and pressure consumers into making purchases.  As part of the settlement, the company is also required to display accurate, real-time information to consumers.  NY AG

Tagged in: Misrepresentations,

March 15, 2022

Fund manager Eric Malley, his company MG Capital Management LP, and related entities MG Capital Realty Management LLC and MG GP III LP, have agreed to pay $12 million to resolve charges of defrauding investors.  In order to market two real estate funds managed by MG Capital, Malley allegedly made a number of material misrepresentations, including that he’d previously managed two highly successful funds and that investor funds were protected against loss.  In fact, Malley was a real estate broker with no experience managing investments, the prior funds did not exist, and he was misappropriating millions from the new funds.  SEC

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Misrepresentations,

March 14, 2022

An energy service company has agreed to pay $2.15 million in restitution to New York consumers after an investigation found that its dishonest business practices caused consumers to pay hundreds of dollars extra per year for gas and electricity.  In addition to the monetary penalty, Family Energy is also required to take measures to prevent future abuses, including adequately training its representatives, monitoring and recording telephone communications, refraining from misleading marketing, and implementing disciplinary actions for any violations.  NY AG

Tagged in: Misrepresentations,

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 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 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 14, 2022

Zachary Joseph Horwitz, 35, of Los Angeles, CA will spend 20 years in federal prison and was ordered to pay over $230 million in restitution. Horwitz raised $650 million from over 250 investors in his Ponzi scheme—investors who were lied to about future licensing and distribution agreements with online platforms such as Netflix and HBO. Horwitz operated his Ponzi scheme via 1inMM Capital, duping five major groups of private investors through hundreds of 6- and 12-month promissory notes, which he defaulted on. Horwitz initiated the scheme in 2014, and it remained active until his arrest by the FBI in April 2021. USAO CDCA

Tagged in: Criminal Proceedings, Financial and Investment Fraud, Misrepresentations, Ponzi Schemes,

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