Article: SEC sues over Marin Ponzi scheme, seeking $10 million

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SEC sues over Marin Ponzi scheme, seeking $10 million

Braden Cartwright, 09 June 2021

Details of the largest financial crime in Marin’s history were revealed in a lawsuit filed last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission against the estate of Ken Casey, who operated a Ponzi-like scheme and stole more than $10 million until his death in May 2020. Mr. Casey’s two Novato-based companies, Professional Financial Investors and Professional Investors Security Fund, brought in hundreds of millions of dollars from more than 1,300 victims. Investors believed they were financing a part of 70 residential and commercial properties in the area; in reality, their money was being used to pay prior investors and line the pockets of Mr. Casey and his co-conspirator, Lewis Wallach. “Many of the investors were elderly, retired and relying on their investment income for daily living expenses,” attorney Bernard Smyth wrote. Several West Marin residents were snared in the scheme, and some were given a commission to bring in more investors. Continue reading “Article: SEC sues over Marin Ponzi scheme, seeking $10 million”

Article: UK Finance, Which?, City of London Police Sign Letter Asking Government to Add Online Scams to “Online Safety” Bill

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UK Finance, Which?, City of London Police Sign Letter Asking Government to Add Online Scams to “Online Safety” Bill

Omar Faridi, 07 May 2021

UK Finance (a trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector that represents around 300 firms in the UK providing credit, banking, markets and payment-related services), Which? (an organization that reviews products and services, so that you “make the best purchase decisions” for your requirements) and City of London Police are among several other organizations that have signed a letter asking the UK government to add online or Internet scams to its latest “Online Safety” bill.

The new “Online Safety” bill will require companies – through the threat of huge fines – to enhance Internet safety in key areas like terrorist content, child sex abuse, hate crimes, cyber-bullying and the circulation of fake or misleading news updates. Continue reading “Article: UK Finance, Which?, City of London Police Sign Letter Asking Government to Add Online Scams to “Online Safety” Bill”

Article: Could The U.K. Secretly Strip Encryption From WhatsApp?

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Could The U.K. Secretly Strip Encryption From WhatsApp?

Barry Collins, 11 April 2021

The U.K. government could secretly force Facebook to strip end-to-end encryption from apps such as WhatsApp, a civil liberties organization has claimed.

The U.K. government has waged a long campaign against end-to-end encryption in consumer apps because it makes interception of communications more difficult. End-to-end encryption thus facilitates crimes such as child abuse, politicians such as the U.K.’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel, have argued. Continue reading “Article: Could The U.K. Secretly Strip Encryption From WhatsApp?”

Article: Market Manipulation: Alberta Securities Commission clamps down on pump and dump scheme

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Market Manipulation: Alberta Securities Commission clamps down on pump and dump scheme

Lawrence E. Ritchie, Tristram Mallett, Devon Luca, 23 March 2021

The Alberta Securities Commission (the “ASC”) recently issued its reasons in Re Kilimanjaro Capital Ltd., 2021 ABASC 14 (the “Decision”). The ASC concluded the control person of Kilimanjaro Capital Ltd. (“Kilimanjaro”), Ashmit Patel, engaged in, among other things, market manipulating conduct intended artificially to inflate Kilimanjaro’s share price so that he could profit.

The Decision highlights the extensive cross-border cooperation between the United States Security and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSAs”). The Decision also strengthens the existing legal framework relating to misleading promotional materials. As we have written previously, regulators are grappling with how to regulate an evolving market in which information posted on social media can significantly influence market valuations. The Decision lays useful groundwork that can be used to regulate legitimate trading practices used for improper purposes.

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Article: U.S. Stock Market Commentary by Samex Capital

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U.S. Stock Market Commentary by Samex Capital

Samex Capital via RGM Communications via Wayback, 7 February 2005

It seems the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute For Legal Reform has publicly stated their petition of William Donaldson, the chairman of the SEC, asking for an investigation into whether short sellers and the law firm of Milberg Weiss (“MW”) had engaged in securities fraud. MW represented a class action suit led by an investment company that was also shorting the stock of the company targeted by the class action. MW is best known for their role in pursuing class action suits against publicly traded companies.

PDF (2 pages): U.S. Stock Market Commentary by Samex Capital

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