Archive

March 9, 2016

The CFTC ordered CHS, Inc. and CHS Hedging, LLC  to pay $1 million for inaccurately reporting positions in corn and soybeans.  CFTC

February 25, 2016

Gary Patton Hall Jr., former president and CEO of Georgia-based Tifton Banking Company, was sentenced to 84 months in prison and to pay $3,931,018 in restitution for his role in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud.  Hall admitted he engaged in a scheme to mislead the bank and its loan committee about loans TBC made to local individuals and businesses.  Hall hid past-due loans from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the TBC loan committee, which resulted in the bank continuing to approve and renew delinquent loans and loans for which the collateral was lacking.  Several of the borrowers eventually defaulted on the loans, resulting in millions of dollars in losses to TBC and others.  In November 2010, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed TBC because of its poor financial condition.  DOJ

February 24, 2016

New York, together with 21 other states, announced multimillion dollar settlements with Natixis Funding Corp. and Societe Generale for fraudulent and anticompetitive conduct in municipal bond derivative transactions with state and local government entities and nonprofits across the country. Natixis and Societe Generale will pay $29,950,000 and $26,750,000 respectively as part of a coordinated 22-state and private class settlement. Pursuant to the settlements, $53,865,000 will be paid into a Settlement Fund and largely applied to restitution for municipalities, counties, government agencies, school districts and nonprofits that the states allege were harmed when they entered into municipal derivatives contracts with Natixis or Societe Generale. NY, NJ, FL

February 24, 2016

The CFTC filed charges against Florida resident Neil Pecker and his company, Vision Financial Partners, LLC, alleging they engaged in fraud in connection with off-exchange binary options and registration violations.  The CFTC complaint alleges that the defendants solicited almost $3 million from over 120 clients in the U.S. and Canada while misappropriating almost $2 million of the funds for their personal use.  CFTC

February 22, 2016

The CFTC sued North American Asset Management, LLC of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; its owner and president Alexi Bethel of Miami, Florida; and its owner and managing director Steven Labadie of Lake Worth, Florida. The CFTC complaint charges the defendants with engaging in illegal, off-exchange transactions in precious metals with retail customers on a leveraged, margined, or financed basis.  CFTC

February 19, 2016

The CFTC filed a civil enforcement action against Ryan S. Magee of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with fraud and also with acting as a Commodity Pool Operator, without being registered with the CFTC, as required.  The CFTC complaint also charged Ryan Magee’s father and wife, David W. Magee and Dalyne Rae Magee, also both Calgary residents, with acting as Associated Persons of Ryan Magee, without being registered with the CFTC, as required.  CFTC

February 11, 2016

Morgan Stanley agreed to pay a $2.6 billion penalty “for misleading investors about the subprime mortgage loans underlying the securities it sold” in the period leading up to the financial crisis.  As part of the agreement, Morgan Stanley admitted that it failed to disclose critical information to prospective investors about the quality of the mortgage loans underlying its residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) which ultimately caused investors, including federally insured financial institutions, to lose billions of dollars from investing in Morgan Stanley in the 2006-07 timeframe.  The $2.6 billion civil penalty resolves claims under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA).  In addition, the states of New York and Illinois announced their own settlements with Morgan Stanley for $550 million and $22.5 million, respectively.  When combined with prior settlements with other regulators -- $225 million to the National Credit Union Administration; $1.25 billion to the Federal Housing Finance Agency; $86.95 million to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and $275 million to the SEC -- this brings to almost $5 billion the total payout by Morgan Stanley in connection with its fraudulent sales of RMBS.  Whistleblower Insider

February 11, 2016

New York, in conjunction with members of a state and federal working group announced a $3.2 billion settlement with Morgan Stanley over the bank’s deceptive practices leading up to the financial crisis. The settlement includes $550 million – $400 million worth of consumer relief and $150 million in cash – that will be allocated to New York State. The resolution requires Morgan Stanley to provide significant community-level relief to New Yorkers, including loan reductions to help residents avoid foreclosure, and funds to spur the construction of more affordable housing. Additional resources will be dedicated to helping communities transform their code enforcement systems, invest in land banks, and purchase distressed properties to keep them out of the hands of predatory investors. NY

February 5, 2016

HSBC Bank USA agreed to pay $470 million settle charges of mortgage origination, servicing and foreclosure abuses.  According to the government, "the agreement is part of our ongoing effort to address root causes of the financial crisis."  The settlement parallels the $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement reached in February 2012 between the federal government, 49 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia’s attorney general and the five largest national mortgage servicers, as well as the $968 million settlement reached in June 2014 between those same federal and state partners and SunTrust Mortgage.  DOJ

February 9, 2015

St. Louis-based agribusiness Monsanto Company will pay an $80 million penalty to settle charges that it violated accounting rules and misstated company earnings with respect to its flagship product Roundup.  In addition, three accounting and sales executives will pay $135,000 collectively to settle charges against them.  An SEC investigation found that Monsanto had insufficient internal controls to properly account for millions of dollars in rebates offered to retailers and distributors of Roundup after generic competition had undercut Monsanto’s prices and resulted in a significant loss of market share for the company.  Monsanto booked substantial revenue resulting from sales incentivized by the rebate programs but failed to recognize all of the related program costs at the same time.  Therefore, Monsanto materially misstated its consolidated earnings in corporate filings during a three-year period.   Monsanto’s CEO and former CFO reimbursed the company $3,165,852 and $728,843 respectively, for cash bonuses and certain stock awards received during the period when the company committed the accounting violations.  SEC