Category: Publications

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Article: Top Wall Street Banks Accused of Conspiracy to Control Stock Lending Market Via Threatening Tactics and Boycotts

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Top Wall Street Banks Accused of Conspiracy to Control Stock Lending Market Via Threatening Tactics and Boycotts
Cohen Milstein, 17 August 2017

Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, UBS, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Face Antitrust Allegations

NEW YORK—Several of the world’s largest investment banks have colluded, in violation of federal antitrust laws, to create and maintain exclusive control of the more than $1 trillion stock loan market, reaping massive profits at the expense of investors, according to three public employees’ pension funds which today filed a federal class action lawsuit. The suit alleges that since at least 2009, six of the world’s largest investment banks—Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS—have illegally conspired to overcharge investors and maintain the power they hold over the stock loan market, obstructing multiple efforts to create competitive electronic exchanges that would benefit both stock lenders and borrowers. Continue reading “Article: Top Wall Street Banks Accused of Conspiracy to Control Stock Lending Market Via Threatening Tactics and Boycotts”

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Article: Feds file fraud charge in Columbia Sportswear hacking case

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Feds file fraud charge in Columbia Sportswear hacking case

Jeff Manning, 11 August 2017

Federal prosecutors sent a message to would-be hackers Thursday, filing a single count of computer fraud against Michael Leeper, the former Columbia Sportswear information technology manager who allegedly continued to log in to the company’s computer system for years after he quit.

Leeper worked for Columbia for 14 years, topping out as director of technical infrastructure, which gave him virtually unlimited access to Columbia’s computer systems. Leeper quit in 2014 to join a Seattle technology company. Prosecutors claim he continued to access Columbia’s system for more than two years with the hopes of commercial gain
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Release: Callidus Statement Regarding Allegations in The Wall Street Journal

Release

Callidus Statement Regarding Allegations in The Wall Street Journal

Callidus Capital, 2017

Callidus Capital Corporation (the “Company” or “Callidus”) today provided the statement below in response to media reports containing allegations regarding the Company and its majority shareholder, The Catalyst Capital Group Inc. (“Catalyst”).

The Wall Street Journal today published allegations about Callidus and Catalyst that are completely false. Callidus is particularly concerned that the Wall Street Journal chose to publish these allegations after a comprehensive briefing held with them on August 8, 2017. For example, as part of that meeting it was made clear that the treatment of the Catalyst guarantee for Callidus loans made to Xchange Technology Group was in accordance with all applicable accounting requirements. As well, full disclosure was contained in both Catalyst’s financial reports to its limited partners and through Callidus’ public disclosures on an ongoing basis. The accounting treatment and disclosure were entirely appropriate and there is no basis for allegations to the contrary, facts the Wall Street Journal chose to ignore.

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Article: JPMorgan Fined for Bad Trade Surveillance Parameter Settings

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JPMorgan Fined for Bad Trade Surveillance Parameter Settings

Trillium, 1  August 2017

Last week, the enforcement divisions of the three major exchange groups released a settlement agreement with JP Morgan Securities imposing an $800,000 fine for inadequate pre-trade controls and post-trade surveillance.

The post-trade surveillance portion of the settlement agreement revealed that JPMS used an unnamed “commercial non-proprietary Third-Party Surveillance System” (it wasn’t Surveyor), but set the parameters of that system “at levels that were unreasonable to detect activity that may be indicative of layering and spoofing activity.”

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Article: Morgan Stanley, 4 others settle forex-rigging case for $111.2M

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Morgan Stanley, 4 others settle forex-rigging case for $111.2M

Katherine Dela Cruz

S&P Global, 30 July 2017

Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered Plc, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Société Générale SA and RBC Capital Markets LLC agreed to pay a total of $111.2 million to settle a U.S. lawsuit accusing them of manipulating prices in the foreign exchange market, pending court approval.

The lawsuit was filed in 2014 against 12 companies, including Morgan Stanley, for allegedly conspiring to fix artificial prices on foreign exchange markets. In 2015, Standard Chartered, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Société Générale and RBC Capital Markets were added as defendants in the case.

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Article: TOP 20 HEALTHCARE FRAUD CASES OF 2017

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TOP 20 HEALTHCARE FRAUD CASES OF 2017

WALTER EISNER, 28 July 2017

It has been a busy year so far on the healthcare fraud and settlements front. Our friends at HealthFinance compiled a lengthy list of healthcare frauds and settlements to date for 2017. We’ve culled the list and report on the top 20 fraud allegations and settlements ranked according to the amount of money involved. 20. $6.5 Million Carolinas Healthcare System Upcoding Settlement.
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Article: Short-seller calls Manitoba-based company ‘ticking time bomb’

Article - Media, Publications

Short-seller calls Manitoba-based company ‘ticking time bomb’

Kristin Annable, Katie Nicholson, Vera-Lynn Kubinec, 20 July 2017

A Manitoba-based company targeted by a U.S short-seller put on a brave face for investors Thursday, presenting a second-quarter report it says shows it’s on the path to a record-breaking year Exchange Income Corp.’s quarterly results were released under a cloud, announced ahead of schedule after Marc Cohodes revealed he was betting against EIC’s stock earlier this month.

“The reason to report earlier was driven by the uncertainty in the marketplace, and we felt the best way to relieve this uncertainty was with facts,” CEO Michael Pyle said Thursday in a teleconference with investors. The uncertainty was driven by Cohodes’s aggressive short campaign, dubbed Mayday EIF Dividend (the company’s name on the stock market), which carries a host of allegations against the company.
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Article: FCA comes down on Wirex after allegations of turning a blind eye to money laundering

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FCA comes down on Wirex after allegations of turning a blind eye to money laundering

Michael Asaro and Richard Williams,  19 July 2017

New York Law Journal has published the article “‘Spoofing’: The SEC Calls It Manipulation, But Will Courts Agree?” written by Michael Asaro and Richard Williams Jr., partner and associate, respectively, in the litigation practice at Akin Gump.

Asaro and Williams analyze the act of spoofing, which they describe as “a relatively new form of alleged market manipulation,” under the open-market manipulation case law. They focus on a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in ATSI Communications v. Shaar Fund, which is seen as binding precedent. Continue reading “Article: FCA comes down on Wirex after allegations of turning a blind eye to money laundering”

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Article: ‘Spoofing’: The SEC Calls It Manipulation, But Will Court Agree?

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‘Spoofing’: The SEC Calls It Manipulation, But Will Court Agree?

Michael A. Asaro,  17 July 2017

In recent years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Department of Justice have pursued an increasing number of cases involving a relatively new form of alleged market manipulation known as “spoofing.” See, e.g., U.S. v. Coscia, No. 14-cr-00551 (N.D. Ill.); In re Panther Energy Trading, CFTC Docket No. 13-26 (2013); CFTC v. Nav Sarao Futures, No. 15-cv-03398 (N.D. Ill.); In re Hold Brothers On-Line Investment Services, Exchange Act Release No. 67924 (SEC Sept. 25, 2012); SEC v. Lek Secs., No. 17-cv-1789 (S.D.N.Y.). Continue reading “Article: ‘Spoofing’: The SEC Calls It Manipulation, But Will Court Agree?”

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Article: Meet the new CEO of Vanguard

Article - Media, Publications

Meet the new CEO of Vanguard

Becky Pritchard, 14 July 2017

Mortimer “Tim” Buckley, 48, was born in Boston, the child of a nurse and a surgeon. He studied economics at Boston’s Harvard University and in his final year of university considered following in his parents’ footsteps and pursuing a career in medicine. But fate stepped in and he met Jack Bogle, then chairman and founder of Vanguard. Continue reading “Article: Meet the new CEO of Vanguard”

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Article: Merrill Lynch salesman describes shock, anger after Shkreli lost $7 million for Merrill on short trade and then threatens firm if it tries to collect

Article - Media

Merrill Lynch salesman describes shock, anger after Shkreli lost $7 million for Merrill on short trade and then threatens firm if it tries to collect

Dan Mangan

CNBC, 5 July 2017

A Merrill Lynch salesman Wednesday described his shock at learning in February 2011 that Martin Shkreli’s hedge fund was unable cover a short trade that left Merrill Lynch with a $7 million loss a day after assuring the firm the trade could be covered.

Paywall access to article.

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Article: Short seller Marc Cohodes now bets against Exchange Income Corp.

Article - Media, Publications

Short seller Marc Cohodes now bets against Exchange Income Corp.

Jonathan Ratner, 05 July 2017

Exchange Income responded, calling the attack a “short and distort campaign” aimed at undermining the value of the company’s shares. “The short report was deliberately released immediately following the end of the company’s second quarter when EIC is in a quiet period, and is based on a number of statements, assumptions and opinions with which we strenuously disagree,” Exchange Income said in a press release. Cohodes said the company has increased its debt load by $427 million over the past five years, and issued more than $230 million of shares to fund its roughly $700 million deficit.
Continue reading “Article: Short seller Marc Cohodes now bets against Exchange Income Corp.”

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Article: Former Deutsche Bank trader banned for ‘spoofing’

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Former Deutsche Bank trader banned for ‘spoofing’

Dave Michaels

MarketWatch, 2 June 2017

A former futures trader at Deutsche Bank AG was permanently barred from the industry after admitting he conspired to manipulate the price of gold and silver futures contracts.

David Liew, a trader who was based in Singapore, also pleaded guilty in federal criminal court in Illinois on Thursday to using illegal spoofing techniques from 2009 to 2012. Regulators and prosecutors have cracked down on spoofing, which involves sending fake offers intended to push prices in a direction that benefits the trader’s other orders. Congress made it illegal through the 2010 Dodd Frank financial overhaul law.

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Article: 180 Life Sciences Corp.

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180 Life Sciences Corp.

EDGAR AGENTS LLC, 01 June 2017

KBL Merger Corp. IV is a newly organized blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination.

This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our common stock, one right and one redeemable warrant. Each right entitles the holder thereof to receive one-tenth (1/10) of one share of common stock upon the consummation of an initial business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus. Each redeemable warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one-half of one share of our common stock at a price of $5.75 per half share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.

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