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Page 27 of 176

September 27, 2021

Citibank, N.A. and Citigroup Global Markets Limited, which are provisionally registered swap dealers, will pay a $1 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that they failed to properly report Legal Entity Identifier information to a swap data repository as required by applicable regulations.  In addition, Citi was found to have supervisory failures and to be out of compliance with a prior 2017 order on related matters.  CFTC

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Regulatory Violations,

September 27, 2021

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. will pay $72.6 million to resolve claims that it violated the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act (“FIRREA”) by overcharging commercial customers from 2010 to 2017 for foreign exchange (“FX”) service. The government alleged that the bank fraudulently marked up the prices on currency it was selling and marked down the prices on currency it was buying, and concealed those markups from customers through various misrepresentations and deceptive practices. The total settlement includes a $37.3 million civil penalty and forfeiture, as well as $35.3 million in restitution to customers.  USAO SDNY

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, FIRREA, Foreign Exchange, Misrepresentations,

September 24, 2021

The former pastor of the Church of the Healthy Self has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison and ordered to pay over $22.5 million in restitution for orchestrating an investment scam that defrauded church members of more than $33 million over a five-year period.  To solicit investments for the church’s investment arm, CHS Trust, church representatives under Kent Whitney’s direction appeared on television and live seminars and made false and misleading statements that were often recorded and uploaded to YouTube.  The statements included guaranteeing a 12% annual rate of return and return of principal with no risk, and claiming that the trust was audited by KPMG.  USAO CDCA

Tagged in: Criminal Proceedings, Financial and Investment Fraud,

September 24, 2021

London-based advertising company WPP plc, which has ADRs registered in the US, will pay $19 million in disgorgement, interest, and penalties to resolve allegations that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  The SEC charged that WPP acquired advertising agencies in high-risk markets and failed to insure that these subsidiaries implemented appropriate internal controls or respond to repeated warning signs and internal complaints about activities including payments to government officials in India, China, Brazil, and Peru.  SEC

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

September 24, 2021

An anonymous whistleblower received an award of $36 million from the SEC.  The SEC found that the individual provided information that significantly contributed to a previously-opened SEC investigation and recoveries by the SEC and another agency.  The SEC found that the individual had unreasonably delayed in reporting the conduct, and had participated in the underlying scheme, although they did not direct, plan, or initiate it.  Two other claimants were denied any recoveries on the grounds that the information they provided did not significantly contribute to the recoveries in the covered action or related action.  SEC

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Rewards,

September 20, 2021

Daryl Bank of Port St. Lucie, Florida was sentenced to 35 years in prison following his conviction at trial on charges related to his sale, through his company Dominion Private Client Group, of unregistered securities in companies that he owned and controlled, despite his previous FINRA bar from the securities industry.  Dominion’s former attorney, Billy Seabolt, previously pleaded guilty to related charges and was sentenced to ten years in prison.  USAO ED VA

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

September 17, 2021

RBC Capital Markets LLC will pay $800,000 to resolve charges that it improperly allocated bonds intended for institutional customers and dealers to “flippers,” who then resold the bonds to other broker-dealers at a profit, despite customer instructions to place retail customer orders first.  RBC employees Kenneth G. Friedrich, who was the head of Municipal Sales, Trading and Syndication, and Jaime L. Durando, the head of RBC's municipal syndicate desk, also settled charges and agreed to penalties of $30,000 and $25,000 respectively.  SEC

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

September 15, 2021

Two unnamed whistleblowers received awards totaling $114 million for recoveries in an SEC enforcement action and two related actions.  The first whistleblower, who received an award of $110 million, provided independent analysis of publicly-available information about an unnamed company, as well as a witness list and substantial ongoing assistance during investigations by the SEC and another unidentified agency.  The second whistleblower, who received an award of $4 million, provided more limited information after the SEC had already undertaken significant investigative steps.    SEC

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Whistleblower Rewards,

September 15, 2021

Ronald Montano and his company, Montano Enterprises LLC, have been ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution and civil monetary penalty for using fraudulent solicitations in connection with binary options with commodity interests.  The solicitations misrepresented automated trading systems as successful, using fictitious trading results, fabricated customer testimonials, and falsified background information on the systems’ creators.  CFTC

Tagged in: Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Misrepresentations,

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