The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has suspended former Morgan Stanley broker Michael R. Neill from the securities industry for one month and fined him $5,000. Mr. Neill consented to the suspension after FINRA alleged that Mr. Neill violated FINRA Rules 4511 and 2010 by altering representative codes for 219…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged former Aegis Capital Corp. broker Surage Kamal Roshan Perera and his firm, Janues Capital Incorporated, with fraud and obtaining emergency relief in court, including a temporary restraining order and an asset freeze. The SEC alleges that from February 2022 until March 2023, the…
In a court filing made on December 15, 2022, in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy court, the Official Committee of Bondholders of GWG Holdings Inc. (“Bondholder Committee”) alleged that broker-dealers sold GWG L Bonds using aggressive and misleading marketing even after it became clear that GWG’s business was failing and that…
On January 30, 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published a Risk Alert including its observations from Broker-Dealer Examinations Related to Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”). The risk alert highlights deficiencies observed during regulatory examinations, as well as weak practices by broker-dealers that could result in deficiencies.…
**Update: February 1, 2023** On February 1, 2023, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas unsealed several significant court filings, including a draft legal complaint. The complaint was filed by the Official Committee of Bondholders of GWG Holdings Inc. (“Bondholder Committee”) against certain current and/or former…
On September 14, 2022, Western International Securities, Inc. filed its Answer to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Complaint denying that the firm violated the standards under Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) in approving, recommending, and supervising the sale of speculative, high-risk, and illiquid L Bonds issued by GWG Holdings, Inc.…
On September 8, 2022, FINRA announced that it had ordered Joseph Stone Capital L.L.C. (“Joseph Stone”) to pay restitution of approximately $825,000 to customers whose accounts were excessively traded by the firm’s representatives. In related settlements, FINRA suspended eight current or former Joseph Stone representatives and required them to pay, collectively,…
GWG L Bondholders who purchased the speculative, high-risk, illiquid, and unrated bonds through Newbridge Securities Corporation are worried after last week’s approval by the bankruptcy judge to allow GWG Holdings Inc. to enter into a new debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing package. The new DIP financing package includes an option for GWG…
On July 18, 2022, the Texas Southern Bankruptcy Court approved a new debtor-in-possession financing package that includes an option to sell GWG Holding Inc.’s portfolio of life insurance policies to Chapford SMA Partnership, L.P. for at least $610 million. Even though the portfolio of life insurance policies does not directly…
Iorio Altamirano LLP, a securities arbitration law firm based in New York, NY, is investigating potential lawsuits and securities arbitration claims against Dempsey Lord Smith, LLC for its sale of L Bonds issued by GWG Holdings, Inc. (GWGH) and limited partnerships created by GPB Capital Holdings, LLC. On March 21,…