December 20, 2012. UBS has agreed to pay a $1.5 billion fine after after regulators in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland alleged the firm had lead a huge conspiracy to artificially inflate the Libor interest rate. In somewhat of a rare move, the […]

Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged James B. Catledge, Derek F.C. Elliott and several related entities with fraud in connection with the sale of unregistered investments in the “Juan Dolio Resort” and another property located in the Dominican Republic. According to […]

A highly contentious and very public lawsuit between Apple and Samsung over Smartphone technology may be moving forward outside of court. The two companies have agreed to hold talks in front of a San Francisco judge on May 21, perhaps the first step in resolving the yearlong dispute over intellectual property. Spanning 10 countries and 50 filings, the dispute arose when Apple initiated a lawsuit claiming that Samsung "slavishly" copied the iPhone and iPad for its Galaxy line of products. Apple asserts that Samsung copied the appearance of Apple technology. Samsung then countersued, alleging that Apple violated Samsung's patents on certain data communications technology. Judge Lucy Koh has ordered the two companies to participate in alternative dispute resolution, and both CEOs and general counsels will be in attendance. Various media outlets have reported the ADR is "semi-voluntary" and will be moderated by Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero, who is otherwise unaffiliated with the case. It is not clear that the talks will immediately end the litigation, but many experts believe that the talks may help to move the litigation forward. Apple CEO Tim Cook stated in last quarter’s report that he would rather settle than pursue litigation, but that "[we] need people to invent their own stuff." Apple has been in various lawsuits since 2010 with companies that use Google's Android operating system. Samsung currently provides Apple with many computer chips and other components for its products. Alternative dispute resolution has gained wide popularity in recent years as companies attempt to limit expensive and time-consuming litigation. ADR uses an unbiased third-party as either a mediator, who facilitates negotiation between the two opposing parties, or as an arbiter, who ultimately resolves the issue after each side has presented arguments. The mediation between Apple and Samsung regarding their intellectual property is non-binding and…

In early September 2012, the SEC initiated formal cease and desist proceedings against San Diego-based financial advisor Raymond J. Lucia, Sr. and his company, Raymond J. Lucia Companies, Inc. According to the SEC, Lucia mislead investors by claiming his proprietary “Buckets of […]

In the spring of 2012, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney began rolling out its new “3D” trading platform. Since its debut, the system has been widely criticized by brokers as being plagued by bugs, design flaws and glitches. While intended to be […]

In late August, Merrill Lynch agreed to a proposed $40 million class action settlement to settle claims the firm refused to pay deferred compensation owed to its brokers after its 2008 merger with Bank of America. The case, which involves a class […]

June 20, 2012. Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C., announces that it obtained a FINRA Panel award of $5 million dollars for a team of two San Diego based financial advisors who were recruited by Morgan Stanley and falsely induced to leave their positions at UBS in […]

The firm announces that it obtained a $486,615.77 FINRA arbitration award against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (“MSSB”), Citigroup Global Markets Holdings, Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (“Citigroup”) on behalf of a financial advisor formerly employed by Citigroup’s Smith Barney division (“Smith […]

The firm announces that it obtained a $622,000.00 FINRA arbitration award against Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC (“Fidelity”) on behalf of an 86 year old investor who had opened a joint account at a San Diego Fidelity office. The amount awarded the firm’s […]

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently re-vamped its online BrokerCheck portal to help users more easily access disclosure information concerning investment advisers. Where the old system only displayed BrokerCheck reports, the new system, where applicable, also displays the Investment Adviser Public […]

the SEC filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Absolute Fund Advisors, LLC, Absolute Fund Management, LLC and Jason J. Konior seeking an injunction preventing the defendants from operating a “Ponzi-like” scheme […]

I recently attended a professional CFO roundtable as a subject matter expert on Obamacare compliance issues for employers. It was an excellent discussion which included CFO’s from firms ranging in size from less than 50 to more than 250 employees. Coming out of the CFO roundtable, the biggest challenge centers around tracking employees with precision so as to ensure the employer avoids the excise taxes (penalties) under IRC § 4980H. Several participants echoed this sentiment saying: “It’s not practical for us to even know how many employees we have at any given moment right now. How am I supposed to make sure I’ve offered coverage to everyone I am supposed to?” What’s clear is that working to comply with Obamacare’s Employer Shared Responsibility provisions, and the Notice and Reporting provisions, will require a significant change in how Applicable Large Employers’ HR, Finance, and Legal Departments interact with one another. Behind Obamacare’s requirements lie employers’ continuing responsibilities under ERISA, HIPPA and state labor laws. Organizations that don’t formulate their Obamacare compliance systems with those other rules in mind can build significant amounts of risk into their business. Many businesses seemed to be still in the first stages of figuring out how to work Affordable Care Act compliance into their organizations. Other organizations have already decided it’s impractical to work compliance in-house and plan to outsource the tasks to third-parties. News reporters like to highlight those employers looking at “manipulating hours” (i.e. reducing or controlling hours to control employees’ entitlement to employer-sponsored health insurance). However this strategy poses a lot of risks and must be executed almost flawlessly to obtain its benefits. Employers manipulating hours run the risks of incurring overtime (for those employees picking up the slack), or worse yet, the risk of exempt employees becoming non-exempt under state wage &…

In early February, FINRA initiated disciplinary proceedings against Charles Schwab & Co. claiming the firm violated FINRA rules by requiring its customers to sign account documents containing broad “class action waivers.” FINRA claims Schwab amended its customer agreements in October 2011 […]

These are the Top Ten Unsuitable Securities Investments to Watch Out For during 2012, as compiled by FINRA. For most investors, these investments may be unsuitable; complex; very risky and not easily understood: 1. Private Placements- Risks- highly illiquid; minimal disclosure; […]

In January, the Federal Reserve announced it will keep interest rates low until at least late 2014 in a continued effort to buttress the fledgling economic recovery. In what has become a market dominated by low interest rates, yields on Treasuries also […]

As the latest in a series of large fines levied against the nation’s few remaining wirehouse firms in early 2012, FINRA announced on Wednesday, January 25, that it fined Merill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith $1 million for refusing to arbitrate promissory […]

FINRA started the new year off by levying a $725,000.00 fine against Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., for failing to disclose potential conflicts of interest in certain research reports the firm published from January 2007 through March 2010. According to FINRA, Citigroup (a) […]

Investment Placement Group (IPG), an independent brokerage firm headquartered in downtown San Diego, agreed in late December to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approximately $4 million in penalties to settle charges that the firm failed to supervise Aurelio Rodriguez, one […]

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The New York Court of Appeals handed a significant consumer victory to investors and current Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman in its December 20, 2011 ruling in Assured Guaranty (UK) Ltd., v. JP Morgan Investment Management, Inc. The Court’s decision decided the frequently […]