Stempel – Financial Treason & Crime

Jonathan Stempel, 31 March 2021

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Wednesday dismissed long-running litigation accusing 10 large banks of conspiring to suppress competition in the now $21.2 trillion market for U.S. Treasury securities.

U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan ruled against 21 pension, retirement and benefit funds, as well as unions, banks, individuals, and companies that traded in Treasuries, in the proposed antitrust class action.

The defendants included Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, NatWest Group and UBS, as well as trading platform operator Tradeweb Markets. Continue reading “Article: Big banks win dismissal of U.S. Treasury rigging litigation”

03/05/202104/03/2021

Article: Bank of America, Morgan Stanley win dismissal of metals spoofing litigation

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Bank of America, Morgan Stanley win dismissal of metals spoofing litigation

Jonathan Stempel, 05 March 2021

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday dismissed litigation by traders and trading firms accusing Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley of manipulating the precious metals futures market by placing trades and then cancelling them before execution, or “spoofing”.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan said the June 2019 lawsuit over alleged spoofing in gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures from 2007 to 2014 was filed long after the two-year federal statute of limitations had run out.

The investors said the clock started in January 2018 when the traders Edward Bases and John Pacilio, both from Connecticut and also defendants, were charged with commodities fraud. Six other people were criminally charged at the time. Continue reading “Article: Bank of America, Morgan Stanley win dismissal of metals spoofing litigation”

02/23/202104/03/2021

Article: Bitfinex, Tether owner pays $18.5 million fine to settle NYAG cryptocurrency cover-up charges

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Bitfinex, Tether owner pays $18.5 million fine to settle NYAG cryptocurrency cover-up charges

Jonathan Stempel, 23 February 2021

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The owner of the Tether cryptocurrency and Bitfinex trading platform will pay an $18.5 million fine to settle charges it commingled client and corporate funds to cover up $850 million that went missing, New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Tuesday.

James said the civil settlement with Hong Kong-based iFinex Inc and related entities will also require them to halt trading activity with New Yorkers.

Bitfinex was accused of having sent the $850 million to Crypto Capital Corp, a payment processor believed to be in Panama, without telling clients, and after the funds went missing, draining at least $700 million from Tether’s reserves. Continue reading “Article: Bitfinex, Tether owner pays $18.5 million fine to settle NYAG cryptocurrency cover-up charges”

01/08/202104/03/2021

Article: Deutsche Bank to pay nearly $125 million to resolve U.S. bribery, metals charges

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Deutsche Bank to pay nearly $125 million to resolve U.S. bribery, metals charges

Jonathan Stempel, Noor Zainab Hussain, 08 January 2021

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank AG will pay nearly $125 million to avoid U.S. prosecution on charges it engaged in foreign bribery schemes and manipulated precious metals markets, the latest blow for the bank as it tries to rebound from a series of scandals.

Germany’s largest lender agreed to the payout as it entered a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, and a related civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Almost all of the payout relates to charges Deutsche Bank violated the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) over its dealings in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, China and Italy, court papers show. Nearly two-thirds of the payout is a criminal fine. Continue reading “Article: Deutsche Bank to pay nearly $125 million to resolve U.S. bribery, metals charges”

10/05/201805/12/2020

Article: ‘Despondent’ Musk’s Tesla resembles Lehman, Greenlight’s Einhorn says

Article - Media

‘Despondent’ Musk’s Tesla resembles Lehman, Greenlight’s Einhorn says

Jennifer Ablam, Jonathan Stempel

Reuters, 5 October 2018

Hedge fund manager David Einhorn lambasted Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and its “despondent” Chief Executive Elon Musk on Friday, comparing the electric car company to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, where he had flagged accounting problems several months before its 2008 collapse.

Read full article.

07/25/201303/03/2021

Article: U.S. charges SAC Capital with insider trading crimes

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U.S. charges SAC Capital with insider trading crimes

Emily Flitter, Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Jonathan Stempel, 25 July 2013

U.S. prosecutors indicted billionaire Steven A. Cohen’s hedge fund for insider trading, a rare move that could end the career of one of Wall Street’s most successful investors and trigger a fundamental change in how traders try to gain an edge over rivals. Continue reading “Article: U.S. charges SAC Capital with insider trading crimes”

10/25/201103/13/2021

Article: UBS fined in U.S. over improper short sales

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UBS fined in U.S. over improper short sales

Jonathan Stempel, 25 October 2011

In the largest penalty of its type, Swiss bank UBS AG was fined $12 million by a U.S. brokerage regulator over its “systemic” failure to properly handle millions of short-sale orders.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said violations by the bank’s UBS Securities LLC broker-dealer unit caused the orders to be mismarked or filled without reasonable grounds to believe the underlying securities could be located.

In short sales, investors sell securities they do not own, hoping the prices will fall so they can repurchase the securities later at the lower price, repay the lender and pocket the difference as profit. Regulators fear that abuses can distort markets, and accelerate declines in share prices. Continue reading “Article: UBS fined in U.S. over improper short sales”

10/25/201003/25/2021

Article: UPDATE 1-SEC, Connecticut charge fund manager with fraud

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UPDATE 1-SEC, Connecticut charge fund manager with fraud

Jonathan Stempel, 25 October 2010

NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) – A Connecticut hedge fund firm was sued on Monday by U.S. and state regulators for allegedly inflating the value of its holdings, allowing it to fraudulently collect millions of dollars of undeserved fees.

Southridge Capital Management LLC and its Chief Executive Stephen Hicks, 52, were sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Connecticut Banking Commissioner Howard Pitkin over their management and financial reporting of several funds.

The SEC said Hicks falsely valued Southridge’s largest holding, speech recognition company Fonix Corp, at $30 million or more based almost entirely on a 2004 transaction in which Fonix bought two companies from an entity he controlled.

It also said Hicks raised $78.9 million over the 2004 to 2007 period after falsely promising investors that more than 75 percent of assets would be put in liquid investments or cash.

Connecticut alleged the overvaluing of fund assets allowed Ridgefield-based Southridge to fraudulently collect more than $26 million in fees from 2004 to 2007. Continue reading “Article: UPDATE 1-SEC, Connecticut charge fund manager with fraud”