CFTC Charges Bradley Schiller in $7.8 Million Ponzi Scheme

Posted on May 31, 2012 by BraunHagey & Borden

CFTC v. Bradley Scott Schiller, Case No. 12-cv-04043 (N.D. Il.).  On May 24, 2012, the CFTC charged Bradley Scott Schiller with solicitation fraud, misappropriating investors’ funds, and issuing false statements in connection with a $7.8 million Ponzi scheme in which Schiller solicited six people to trade commodity futures contracts on their behalf.  Schiller lied to investors about his success as a trader by using falsified account statements.  Continue reading →

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SEC and Stephen H. Guth Settle Insider Trading Charges Concerning Omrix Tender Offer

Posted on May 30, 2012 by BraunHagey & Borden

SEC v. Stephen H. Guth, Case No. 1:12-cv-00842 (RBW) (D.D.C.).   On May 24, 2012 the SEC filed a settled civil enforcement action against Stephen H. Guth for buying Omrix Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. common stock ahead of a public announcement that Johnson & Johnson was making a tender offer for the outstanding shares of Omrix stock.  In October and November 2008, Guth received an unsolicited communication from the CEO of Omrix seeking information related to his tenure at Omrix.  Guth knew the sender of the email was the CEO of Omrix and knew the information was nonpublic.  Continue reading →

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SEC Charges Investment Advisers Jorge Gomez and Roberto Aleph Espinosa With Fraud

Posted on May 30, 2012 by BraunHagey & Borden

SEC v. Jorge Gomez and Roberto Aleph Espinosa, Case No. 1:12-CV-21962 (S.D. Fl.). On May 29, 2012, the SEC charged Jorge Gomez, an investment adviser, with perpetrating a fraudulent scheme to misappropriate millions from an investment advisory client.  The SEC also agreed to settle related charges against Roberto Aleph Espinosa who, with Gomez, provided investment advisory and brokerage services to their client.  In 2007, Gomez convinced a client to invest $10.8 million by presenting false claims regarding his affiliation with two large financial institutions.  Continue reading →

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SEC Obtains Order to Pay More Than $2.8 million Against New Futures Trading International Corporation and Henry Roche in Ponzi Scheme

Posted on May 30, 2012 by BraunHagey & Borden

SEC v. New Futures Trading International Corporation and Henry Roche, Case No. 11-CV-532-JL (D. NH.) On May 24, 2012 the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire entered final judgments by default against New Futures Trading International Corporation and Henry Roche, who directed New Futures in a Ponzi scheme.  According to the SEC, since December 2010, Roche raised more than $1.3 million from 14 investors in nine states by promising a 200% return within 14 months.  Continue reading →

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SEC Charges David M. Connolly in Multi-Million Dollar Real Estate Investment Scam

Posted on May 30, 2012 by BraunHagey & Borden

SEC v. David M. Connolly, Case No. 2:12-cv-02952-WJM-MF (D.N.J.)  On May 17, 2012,  the SEC charged David Connolly with operating a multi-million-dollar Ponzi-like scheme involving a series of investment vehicles formed for the purpose of purchasing and managing real estate in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  Connolly raised more than $50 million from over 200 investors by selling “shares” in his investment vehicles.  Connolly defrauded investors by misrepresenting the use of their funds, concealing the poor performance of the investment vehicles, and hiding his misuse of investor funds.  Continue reading →

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Former SEC Staffer Fined $50,000 by the DOJ and Barred From Practice Before the SEC

Posted on May 30, 2012 by BraunHagey & Borden

In the Matter of Spencer C. Barasch, AP File No. 3-14891.  On May 24, 2012, the SEC issued an Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings, Making Findings and Imposing Remedial Sanctions against Spencer Barasch, a former enforcement official in the SEC’s Forth Worth office.  Mr. Barasch was the Associate District Director for Enforcement in the SEC’s Forth Worth office from 1998 to 2005.  While at the SEC, he was “personally and substantially” involved in decisions regarding allegations that entities associated with Robert Allen Stanford, including Stanford Group Company, violated the federal securities laws.  Continue reading →

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SEC Charges Northern California Investment Adviser in $60 Million Ponzi Scheme

Posted on May 25, 2012 by BraunHagey & Borden

SEC v. GLR Capital Management, LLC, et al., Case No. CV 12-2663 HRL.  Yesterday, the SEC charged John A. Geringer of running a $60 million investment fund like a Ponzi scheme.  Geringer, who managed the GLR Growth Fund, misled investors with false marketing materials claiming that the fund produced returns of between 17 and 25 percent through investments tied to well-known stock indices such as the S&P 500, NASDAQ, and Dow Jones.  He also claimed 25 percent returns for years before the fund even existed.  In reality, to the extent Geringer did any securities trading, he consistently lost money. Continue reading →

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SEC Files Insider Trading Charges Against Former Yahoo Executive and Ameriprise Mutual Fund Manager

Posted on May 23, 2012 by BraunHagey & Borden

SEC v. Reema D. Shah and Robert W. Kwok, Civil Action No. 12-CV-4030 (ALC) (S.D.N.Y.).  On May 22, 2012, the SEC announced insider trading charges against Robert W. Kwok, former Senior Director of Business Management at Yahoo! Inc., and Reema D. Shah, a former mutual and hedge fund manager at RiverSource Investments, LLC.  In July 2009, Kwok provided Shah with nonpublic information that an agreement between Yahoo and Microsoft, which had long been the subject of market rumors, would be announced soon.  Continue reading →

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SEC Charges Fund Manager for Secretly Diverting Funds to His Own Companies

Posted on May 22, 2012 by BraunHagey & Borden

SEC v. Mark F. Spangler and The Spangler Group, Inc., Case No. 2:12-cv-00856 (D. Wash.).  On May 17, 2012, the SEC announced that it filed an action against Mark Spangler, a former chairman of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington also announced parallel criminal charges against Spangler.  The SEC alleges that in 1998, Spangler formed and managed a number of private funds that he marketed to clients who expected that their money would be invested in public debt and equity securities.  Continue reading →

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SEC Charges Recidivist in $35 Million International Boileroom Scheme

Posted on May 16, 2012 by BraunHagey & Borden

SEC v. Nicholas Louis Geranio, et al., Case No. CV-12-4257-DMG (JCx) (C. D. Cal.).  On May 16, 2012, the SEC announced that it filed an action against SEC recidivist Nicholas Louis Geranio, Keith Michael Field, The Good One, Inc. and Kaleidoscope Real Estate, Inc. for their roles in a $35 million scheme to manipulate the market and to profit from the issuance and sale of certain U.S. companies’ (“issuers’”) stock through offshore boiler rooms.  According to the SEC, Geranio orchestrated the scheme as follows: Continue reading →

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