Financial and Investment Fraud

April 23, 2015

German-based Deutsche Bank AG and its UK-based subsidiary DB Group Services (UK) Limited agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle US and UK allegations relating to their role in manipulating and false reporting of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and Euribor.  In addition to the monetary payout, DB Group Services agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and Deutsche Bank entered into a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve wire fraud and price-fixing charges. The settlement payment consists of an $800 million CFTC penalty, a $600 million penalty payable to the New York Department of Financial Services, $344 million payable to the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) action, and criminal penalties and disgorgement payable in an agreement with DOJ, including a $150 million fine payable by DB Group Services and a $625 million penalty payable by Deutsche Bank.  DOJ; CFTC; NY

April 16, 2015

A former retail insurance agent with Kilgore Insurance Agency, along with the agency’s owners, have been ordered to pay more than $3.5 million in restitution and interest for overcharging clients, mostly small business owners, by padding insurance premiums with hidden “agency fees.” MA

April 15, 2015

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a $10 million settlement of a lawsuit filed against the auditing firm Ernst & Young LLP over its involvement in a financial statement fraud at the now-defunct investment bank, Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. That money will be distributed as restitution to investors in Lehman securities, along with some $99 million being paid by Ernst & Young to settle a private federal class action that relied in part on facts uncovered by the Attorney General’s investigation. No other law enforcement authority has brought an enforcement action in connection with the 2008 collapse of Lehman and today’s settlement resolves the first lawsuit brought against an auditor of a public company under New York’s securities laws. NY

March 13, 2015

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office obtained a temporary injunction and asset freeze against World Mark Wholesale and Trade, LLC for allegedly engaging in a systematic scheme to defraud owners of timeshares throughout Florida and nationwide. FL

February 13, 2015

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a felony indictment today charging Moazzam Ifzal “Mark” Malik with stealing over $250,000 from five investors by fraudulently soliciting them to invest in his purported hedge funds, including Seven Sages Capital, L.P. and Wolf Hedge LLC. Malik is accused of luring investors with false representations that he managed a multi-million dollar hedge fund that would guarantee high returns, and then diverted their monies for his own personal use. NY

February 13, 2015

A federal court ordered Scott M. Ross, formerly of Gilberts, Illinois, and his companies, Maize Capital Management, LLC and Maize Asset Management, LLC, to pay $6.7 million in restitution and civil penalties for defrauding investors, mishandling customer funds, and failing to register as a commodity pool operator.  CFTC

February 11, 2015

Ohio Attorney General DeWine announced a lawsuit against Buffalo-based debt collector Nationwide Recovery Group LLC and its owner, Michael P. McCarthy, for violating the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by allegedly impersonating Ohio government agencies and threatening consumers with arrest while attempting to collect debts. While operating in Ohio, the business also allegedly used the fictitious names Gallagher Mediation and the Law Firm of John McGuire to mislead consumers. OH

February 9, 2015

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced felony charges against Khawaja Saud Masud for stealing over $1M from a retired pediatrician and his wife by fraudulently soliciting them to invest in his purported hedge fund RKS Capital, LP. NY