Whistleblower News From The Inside -- March 28, 2018

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Wedbush Charged with Failing to Supervise Stockbroker Involved in Penny-Stock Scam – “L.A.’s biggest stockbrokerage ignored or didn’t properly investigate warning signs that one of its brokers was pushing clients to invest in a pump-and-dump scheme, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged Tuesday. The commission charged Wedbush Inc., based in downtown Los Angeles, with failing to properly supervise a former broker who it alleges received kickbacks from the scheme’s organizers in exchange for recommending her clients invest in certain stocks and engage in trades aimed at manipulating their prices.”  LA Times

 Maxwell Technologies, Former Executive Settle SEC Charges – “Maxwell Technologies Inc and a former executive have settled charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that they fraudulently inflated financial results, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.  Without admitting or denying the allegations, Maxwell Technologies, a California-based energy storage and power delivery product manufacturer, has agreed to pay $2.8 million and former sales executive Van Andrews has agreed to pay $50,000, the agency said.”  Reuters

Broker-Dealer Admits It Failed to File Suspicious Activity Reports – “Aegis Capital Corporation, a New York-based brokerage firm, has admitted that it failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) on numerous suspicious transactions. Broker-dealers are required to file SARs for certain transactions suspected to involve fraudulent activity or have no business or apparent lawful purpose. The SEC’s order found that Aegis failed to file SARs on suspicious transactions that raised red flags indicating the transactions were potentially related to the market manipulation of low-priced securities.”  SEC