Financial and Investment Fraud

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 5, 2016

The Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with 49 states, and the District of Columbia announced that HSBC will pay $470 million to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses. The settlement also requires HSBC to substantially change how it services mortgage loans, handles foreclosures and ensures the accuracy of information provided in bankruptcy court. These terms are meant to prevent abuses such as robo-signing, improper documentation and the loss of paperwork. NY, CA, PA, TX, IL, MA

January 27, 2016

Arizona developer and attorney John Keith Hoover was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a major investment and bankruptcy fraud in which he created nearly two dozen companies solicit money from Arizona and California investors for bogus real-estate developments.  Several investors were widows who gave Hoover control of the bulk of their estates based on his friendship with their families and because of the trust he developed as an attorney.  Hoover encouraged investors to liquidate retirement accounts, life-insurance policies, mutual funds and securities, and Social Security death benefits to fund their investments with him, and then used investor money to pay his living expenses.  When he ran out of money, he refinanced properties with false representations about salary, assets, liabilities, employment, and sources of down payments. Then, he and his wife filed bankruptcy while hiding assets.  DOJ (AZ)

January 14, 2016

State Street Bank and Trust Company will pay $12 million to settle charges that it conducted a pay-to-play scheme to win contracts to service Ohio pension funds.  An SEC investigation found that Vincent DeBaggis, head of State Street’s public funds group, made a deal with Ohio’s then-deputy treasurer under which DeBaggis would make illicit cash payments and political campaign contributions in exchange for three lucrative contracts to safeguard certain funds’ investment assets and effect the settlement of their securities transactions.  DeBaggis will pay almost $275,000 to settle the SEC’s charges.  In related proceedings, attorney Robert Crowe, who worked as a lobbyist and fundraiser for State Street, was charged in federal court for his role in the scheme.  SEC

September 30, 2015

In the SEC’s second round of filings against underwriters under its Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative, a voluntary self-reporting program targeting material misstatements and omissions in municipal bond offering documents, the SEC announced enforcement actions against 22 municipal underwriting firms.  The underwriters and the agreed penalty amounts to be paid are as follows: Ameritas Investment Corp. ($200,000), BB&T Securities, LLC ($200,000),Comerica Securities, Inc. ($60,000), Commerce Bank Capital Markets Group($40,000), Country Club Bank ($140,000), Crews & Associates, Inc. ($250,000),Duncan-Williams, Inc. ($250,000), Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. ($100,000), Estrada Hinojosa & Company, Inc. ($40,000), Fifth Third Securities, Inc. ($20,000), The Frazer Lanier Company, Inc. ($100,000), J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyson, LLC($420,000), Joe Jolly & Co., Inc. ($100,000), Mesirow Financial, Inc. ($100,000),Northland Securities, Inc. ($220,000), NW Capital Markets Inc. ($100,000), PNC Capital Markets LLC ($500,000), Prager & Co., LLC ($100,000), Ross, Sinclaire & Associates, LLC ($220,000), UBS Financial Services, Inc. ($480,000), UMB Bank, N.A. Investment Banking Division ($420,000), and U.S. Bank Municipal Securities Group, a Division of U.S. Bank National Association ($60,000).  SEC

June 18, 2015

The SEC announced enforcement actions against 36 municipal underwriting firms for violations in municipal bond offerings.  The cases are the first brought against underwriters under the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) initiative, a voluntary self-reporting program targeting material misstatements and omissions in municipal bond offering documents.  The SEC’s actions allege that between 2010 and 2014, the 36 firms violated federal securities laws by selling municipal bonds using offering documents that contained materially false statements or omissions about the bond issuers’ compliance with continuing disclosure obligations.  Under the terms of the MCDC initiative, each firm will pay civil penalties based on the number and size of fraudulent offerings identified, up to $500,000.  The firms and penalty amounts are as follows: The Baker Group, LP ($250,000), B.C. Ziegler and Company ($250,000), Benchmark Securities, LLC ($100,000), Bernardi Securities, Inc. ($100,000), BMO Capital Markets GKST Inc. ($250,000), BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC ($120,000), BOSC, Inc. ($250,000), Central States Capital Markets, LLC ($60,000), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. ($500,000), City Securities Corporation ($250,000), Davenport & Company LLC ($80,000),Dougherty & Co. LLC ($250,000), First National Capital Markets, Inc. ($100,000),George K. Baum & Company ($250,000), Goldman, Sachs & Co. ($500,000),Hutchinson, Shockey, Erley & Co. ($220,000), J.P. Morgan Securities LLC ($500,000), L.J. Hart and Company ($100,000), Loop Capital Markets, LLC ($60,000), Martin Nelson & Co., Inc. ($100,000), Merchant Capital, L.L.C. ($100,000), Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated ($500,000),Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC ($500,000), The Northern Trust Company ($60,000),Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. ($400,000), Piper Jaffray & Co. ($500,000), Raymond James & Associates, Inc. ($500,000), RBC Capital Markets, LLC ($500,000),Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated ($500,000), Siebert Brandford Shank & Co., LLC ($240,000), Smith Hayes Financial Services Corporation ($40,000), Stephens Inc. ($400,000), Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc. ($80,000), Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc. ($500,000), Wells Nelson & Associates, LLC ($100,000), William Blair & Co., L.L.C. ($80,000).  SEC