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September 12, 2022

A man who operated a Ponzi scheme that procured over $5 million from victims in Puerto Rico and the continental U.S. has been sentenced to over 11 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $2 million in restitution to 46 victims.  Carlos Maldonado was found to have misrepresented his companies as legitimate businesses, and failed to disclose to investors that their funds would be used for his own purposes, including buying and trading stocks on his personal accounts, and paying off personal auto loans payments.  USAO PR

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

September 12, 2022

Registered investment advisers Hudson Advisors L.P. and Lone Star Global Acquisitions Ltd. have agreed to a resolution totaling $79.7 million to resolve claims that the firms included $54.6 million of its owner’s anticipated U.S. tax liability in fees charged to the funds although by law, those tax liabilities were payable by the owner and the firms were not authorized to charge the tax liability as a component of fees without full and fair disclosure to the funds. The firms will pay an $11.2 million civil penalty and reimburse the affected funds $68.5 million, which includes interest on the undisclosed tax liability charges.  SEC

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

September 6, 2022

JUUL Labs has settled with thirty-four states and territories and agreed to pay $438.5 million and abide by strict injunctive terms in order to resolve an investigation into its marketing and sales practices.  The investigation had revealed that JUUL willfully targeted underage users, relied on age verification techniques it knew were ineffective, manipulated the chemical composition of its products to be less harsh for inexperienced users, and implied that its products contained lower concentrations of nicotine than it actually did.  DE AG; GA AG; OR AG; VA AG

Tagged in: Misrepresentations,

August 24, 2022

Taronis Technologies, Inc. and related entities have agreed to pay a total of $5.1 million in disgorgement and interest to resolve allegations that the companies issued false and misleading statements claiming to have agreements and relationships with customers that did not exist or were exaggerated.  Taronis executives created fake and backdated orders, resulting in improper revenue recognition.  Based on these misstated financials, defendants raised approximately $30 million from investors in private placements.  SEC

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

August 16, 2022

Eagle Bancorp, Inc. has agreed to pay $13.35 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest to resolve charges that it violated SEC regulations and GAAP in failing to disclose as related party transactions nearly $90 million in loans extended to trusts associated with its former CEO and chairman of the board, Ronald D. Paul, as well as tens of millions of dollars of loans to other Eagle directors and their family members.  The SEC further found that when questions about the reporting were raised publicly, the bank knowingly made false and misleading statements that the loans were not related party loans.  Paul agreed to settle related charges for a total of $431,000.  SEC

Tagged in: Accounting Fraud, Misrepresentations, Securities Fraud,

August 10, 2022

Angel Oak Capital Advisors and its portfolio manager Ashish Neghandi will pay $1.75 million and $75,000 respectively to settle charges of misleading investors via their $90 million securitization of home renovation loans. When delinquency rates on their “fix-and-flip” loans increased unexpectedly, rather than accelerating return payments to certain investors, as contractually required, defendants artificially reduced delinquency rates by diverting borrowers’ funds to pay down outstanding loan balances. SEC

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

August 3, 2022

Surgalign Holdings, Inc.—formerly RTI Surgical Holdings, Inc.—and its former executives Brian Hutchison and Robert Jordheim will collectively pay over $2.25 million in civil penalties and disgorgement, for accelerating revenue in contravention of GAAP principles, and in violation of the ’33 Act, the ’34 Act, and SOX. Falling short of their sales targets, RTI shipped future orders ahead of schedule to “pull forward” revenue. This practice cannibalized future revenue streams, damaged important customer relationships, and kept investors in the dark as to the true financial condition of the company. RTI restated its public financial statements from 2014 through 2019 to correct errors caused by this practice. SEC, SEC

Tagged in: Accounting Fraud, Misrepresentations, Regulatory Violations,

August 3, 2022

Arthur Merson will spend 15 months in prison and will pay over $3.4 million in restitution for his scheme to defraud investors by conspiring to commit wire fraud. Merson acted as an intermediary between investors and the principal co-conspirators, representing to investors they could receive a portion of the value of multi-million-dollar Standby Letters of Credit with a minimal investment, and would reap multiples of their investment in a matter of weeks. In 2017 and 2018, Merson lied to investors, calling himself an independent consultant who would receive only a small finder’s fee for his efforts, when in reality he had significant financial interest in the investments and affirmatively misled investors when responding to their inquiries. USAO ME

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

July 29, 2022

Aegis Capital Corp., and two of its former representatives, Alan Z. Appelbaum and Paul F. Gallivan will pay around $2.5 million total for making materially false and misleading statements and making unsuitable investment recommendations, namely, variable interest rate structured products. Appelbaum, Gallivan, and 14 Aegis brokers recommended these highly complex and risky products to customers with “moderate” risk tolerance, despite having investment timelines inconsistent with the VRSP maturity dates. The targeted customers’ financial needs were disregarded, as were their risk tolerance, investment objectives, age, investment experience, and liquidity needs. SEC

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

July 29, 2022

First American Payment Systems—a merchant payment processing provider—and two sales affiliates have been ordered to return $4.9 million to businesses harmed by FAPS’ hidden terms, surprise exit fees, and zombie charges. FAPS’ preyed mostly on merchants with limited English proficiency, promising low costs and an easy exit, but hit them with surprise fees and illegal charges when the customers tried to get out. In addition to the monetary penalty, FAPS is required to stop misleading customers about fees and pricing, stop unauthorized bank withdrawals, make service cancellation easier, and stop charging early termination fees. FTC

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Misrepresentations,

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