Mark J. Astarita

Investors

Online Gaming Company Charged with Fraud

The SEC charged Robert Alexander with fraudulently raising approximately $9 million from more than 50 individuals by selling investments in Kizzang LLC, a purported online gaming business. Alexander misled investors to believe they would make at least 10 times their investment, and also stated that he had put millions of […]

Investors

List of Firms Using Inaccurate Information 

The SEC maintains a list of unregistered entities that it alleges uses misleading information to solicit non-US investors  known as PAUSEor fake firms. It recently updated that list  to add four firms that are impersonating real firms, and 9 bogus firms. The list, known as the Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities […]

ponzi scheme
Investors

Victims of $102 Million Ponzi Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges and obtained an asset freeze against the individuals and companies behind a $102 million Ponzi scheme that bilked investors throughout the U.S. According to the SEC’s press release, the defendants defrauded more than 600 investors through sales of securities in issuers they controlled, […]

Securities and Exchange Commission
Investors

Merrill Lynch Admits Masking to Defraud Customers

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith with misleading customers about how it handled their orders.  Merrill Lynch agreed to settle the charges, admit wrongdoing, and pay a $42 million penalty. According to the SEC’s order, Merrill Lynch falsely informed customers that it had executed […]

Brokers

UBS Pulls a Fast One on its Own Employees

Only a few months after withdrawing from the Protocol, UBS Financial Services is requiring brokers waiting for their 2017 bonuses to sign agreements that open them to lawsuits and arbitration complaints if they try to contact former clients within 12 months of leaving the U.S. broker-dealer unit of the Swiss bank. […]

Cryptocurrency
Corp Finance Investors

Bitcoin Fraud On the Rise

Proponents of the varied cryptocurrencies believe that buying these “coins” will make them millionaires. For some, it is hard to argue, given the spectacular gains in the currency over the past year. However, those of us who have been involved in the securities markets for more than a few years, […]