Alan M. Pollack
Partner, Washaw Burnstein
Among multiple areas of interest:
Represented defrauded investors in naked-short selling and stock manipulation cases brought against major investment banks under RICO and the federal securities laws.
Paper: Market Manipulation and Directors Fiduciary Duty of Care
PaperMarket Manipulation and Directors Fiduciary Duty of Care
Market manipulation of emerging or small cap companies is pervaasive on Wall Street and according to the SEC has increased over 37% in the last decade. The nature and scope of market manipulation schemes is limited only by the creativity and audacity of their perpetrators. While the substance and mechanics of market manipulation schemes may differ, the objective is the same – to inject false information into the marketplace that artificially affects the price of the target companies securities by “interfering with the natural interplay of the forces of supply and demand.” The proliferation of market manipulation scshemes has created challenging risk-management and best practice issues for the directors of targeted companies, which require directors to continuously assess the nature and scope of their fiduciary duty of care.
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Article: Largest Silver Gold Manipulation Criminal Case Coming
Article - Media, PublicationsLargest Silver Gold Manipulation Criminal Case Coming
James Anderson, 08 February 2020
This week we learned that U.S. authorities at the DoJ, who have for years not only accused various JPMorgan Chase & Co. employees of rigging precious-metals futures but also got many to plead guilty. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is now, more importantly, building a criminal case against America’s biggest bank itself.
The previously unreported investigation of the global bank’s parent company, part of a wide-ranging attempt by the Federal government to maintain shreds of its former financial market credibility, raises the now new prospect of criminal charges against higher up executives within the United States’ largest bank.
And perhaps even larger implications are coming to this once considered too big to fail, therefore we must bail them out bank.
One which today in 2020, and seemingly year after year the Bank for International Settlements’ Financial Stability Board ascribes as being the #1 Global-Sytimatic Important Bank (G-SIB). In terser terms, JP Morgan’s stability is consistently ranked by the central bank of central banks, as being the largest threat to our global financial system functioning smoothly (new Bank Bail-In Laws on the books still).
Today we will dig into some details about this coming criminal case against JP Morgan Chase.
Article: Justice Department Presses Ahead With ‘Spoofing’ Prosecutions Despite Mixed Record
Article - MediaJustice Department Presses Ahead With ‘Spoofing’ Prosecutions Despite Mixed Record
Dave Michaels
The Wall Street Journal, 7 February 2020
Article: Inventiva completes a capital increase of €15 m subscribed by existing shareholders
Article - Media, PublicationsInventiva completes a capital increase of €15 m subscribed by existing shareholders
Yahoo Finance, 07 February 2020
Daix (France), February 7, 2020 – Inventiva (IVA.NX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral small molecule therapies for the treatment of diseases in the areas of fibrosis, lysosomal storage disorders and oncology, today announced the successful completion of a capital increase of €15 million subscribed by some of its current key shareholders, BVF Partners L.P., NEA, Novo Holdings A/S and Sofinnova Partners. The capital increase was executed at the closing price of February 6, 2020 without discount.
Fined: FIMCO Securities Group, Inc. Fined by FINRA
FinedFIMCO Securities Group, Inc. Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $5,000. A lower fine was imposed after considering, among other things, the firm’s revenues, financial resources and ability to pay. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to conduct supervisory testing and verification or prepare an annual report documenting the results.
Article: H.C. Wainwright & Co. Once Again Ranked #1 by PlacementTracker
Article - MediaH.C. Wainwright & Co. Once Again Ranked #1 by PlacementTracker
BusinessWire, 6 February 2020
H.C. Wainwright & Co. announced its #1 Ranking by transaction volume during 2019 maintaining the top position for 19 consecutive quarters in PlacementTracker’s Market League Tables. As noted by PlacementTracker, H.C. Wainwright effectuated more than 3 times the number of transactions than any other firm in 2019.
In addition to being the #1 Investment Bank for Confidentially Marketed Public Offerings, Registered Direct and Private Placement transactions, H.C. Wainwright executed over 200 transactions in 2019 totaling over $7.6 Billion in transaction value. According to PlacementTracker, the H.C. Wainwright Team has been the #1 ranked Underwriter/Placement Agent by deal volume cumulatively since 1998.
Comment: This company is alleged to be one of the top front-runners helping naked short sellers destroy promising companies.
Learn more: HCWainwright @ NSS
Article: JPMorgan Facing Suit Over Spoofing Metals
Article - MediaJPMorgan Likely to Face Lawsuit for Precious Metal Spoofing
Zacks Equity Research, February 6, 2020
Per a Bloomberg’s article, JPMorgan Chase JPM is likely to face a criminal lawsuit over rigging precious-metals futures. The authorities that had previously accused six of the bank’s employees of the same misconduct are now planning to charge the company.
The Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have been investigating the company’s precious metals desk’s trading practices for the past two years.
Continue reading “Article: JPMorgan Facing Suit Over Spoofing Metals”
Fined: BNP Paribas Securities Corp. Fined by FINRA
FinedBNP Paribas Securities Corp. Fined by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $90,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it submitted inaccurate, incomplete, or improperly formatted information to the Order Audit Trail FINRA has taken disciplinary actions against the following firms and individuals for violations of FINRA rules; federal securities laws, rules and regulations; and the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). Reported for April 2020 2 Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions April 2020 System (OATS™).
Suspended: John Martin Harman Suspended by FINRA
SuspendedJohn Martin Harman Suspended by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which Harman was assessed a deferred fine of $5,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in all capacities for 30 business days. Without admitting or denying the findings, Harman consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he directed customers to sign blank or incomplete distribution request forms for their IRAs which he thereafter completed and submitted for processing. The findings stated that the distributions were sent to the customers, as intended.
Fined: Virtu Americas LLC Fined by FINRA
FinedVirtu Americas LLC Fined by FINRA
A Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC)
was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $250,000. Without
admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and
to the entry of findings that it implemented policies and procedures that
failed to reasonably avoid displaying, or engaging in a pattern or practice of
displaying, locking or crossing quotations in over-the-counter (OTC) equity
securities.
Suspended: Peter Douglas Monson Suspended by FINRA
SuspendedPeter Douglas Monson Suspended by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which Monson was fined $7,500 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in all capacities for six months. This AWC does not include a restitution component because the beneficiary of the account at issue previously entered into a settlement with Monson and his member firm regarding the conduct described here.
Barred: Ana Lucia Chavarriaga Barred by FINRA
BarredAna Lucia Chavarriaga Barred by FINRA
An AWC was issued in which Chavarriaga was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities. Without admitting or denying the findings, Chavarriaga consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that she backdated documents and drafted false written statements that her member firm provided to FINRA in response to its requests for information. The findings stated that as the firm’s designated supervisor, Chavarriaga was responsible for reviewing and initialing the firm’s TRACE Quality of Markets Report Cards. Chavarriaga signed and backdated report cards and supplied them to the firm, which in turn provided them to FINRA.
Article: China moves to limit short selling as virus looms over market reopening
Article - Media, PublicationsChina moves to limit short selling as virus looms over market reopening
Zhang Yan, Ryan Woo, 02 February 2020
China has taken steps to limit short-selling activities as the country’s financial markets prepare to reopen on Monday amid an outbreak of a new coronavirus, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The sources said China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) had issued a verbal directive to brokerages including Citic Securities Co. and China International Capital Corp. to bar their clients from selling borrowed stocks on Feb. 3. It was not clear if the suspension — which was first reported on Sunday by Chinese media outlet 21st Century Business Herald — would be extended beyond Monday, one of the sources said. Continue reading “Article: China moves to limit short selling as virus looms over market reopening”
Article: What We Talk About When We Talk About the Russian Mob
Article - Media, PublicationsWhat We Talk About When We Talk About the Russian Mob
IN ROBERT MUELLER’S famed “Iron Triangles” speech, given to the Citizens Crime Commission of New York on 27 January 2011, the then-FBI Director explains how 21st century transnational organized crime works. (He also, improbably, cracks a joke about Justin Bieber’s haircut, the only sentence in the speech that feels dated).
The so-called “mob” is no longer run by a few families, Mueller says, but rather “flat, fluid networks with global reach,” comprised of groups in countries all around the world, which are “more anonymous and more sophisticated.”
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