At first glance, the SEC’s insider trading settlement with professional golfer Phil Mickelson is noteworthy if only because of Mickelson’s celebrity status and the press coverage it has generated. However, looking beyond the sordid tabloid appeal of a high-profile athlete becoming entangled with individuals who are alleged to have been waist-deep in a long-running insider...Read More

Blowing the whistle to the Securities and Exchange Commission — even when the SEC is already hot on the trail of the securities wrongdoer — can be quite lucrative. Case in point: the SEC recently announced a whistleblower award of more than $3.5 million to a company employee whose tip “bolstered” its ongoing investigation with...Read More

Chalk up one for the good guy. Brandon Neal, a former Morgan Stanley broker, achieved a rare, total victory in defense of a FINRA promissory note arbitration claim filed against him by Morgan Stanley. The claim sought approximately $215,000 in debt and another $100,000 or so in interest and attorney’s fees. In response, Mr. Neal...Read More

In a rare event, a federal court recently ordered the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, to refund to a now defunct hedge fund — Level Global Investors — $21.5 million in settlement monies the hedge fund paid in 2013 to settle SEC insider trading charges. The Federal Court’s Order was issued based upon...Read More

The Law Firm of David R. Chase, PA is investigating potential investor claims involving the following stockbrokers and financial advisors: Kevin Murphy FINRA initiated enforcement action against broker Kevin Murphy alleging that in approximately November 2013, he sold $1.2 million of securities (shares and warrants) in a private placement offering to four individual investors and...Read More

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed an enforcement action against a Deutsche Bank research analyst, Charles P. Grom, for his certification of a buy rating on the stock of Big Lots, a discount retailer, even though his opinion had grown bearish after he became privy to negative information from discussions with company executives. The...Read More

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently brought fraud charges against a securities broker-dealer, Portfolio Advisors Alliance (PAA), in connection with its role as placement agent in a high yield securities offering. The SEC also sued the broker dealer’s owner, Howard Allen, and its President, Kerri Wasserman. The broker-dealer served as placement agent for the sale...Read More

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (January 13, 2016) – Silver Law Group and the Law Firm of David R. Chase, P.A. announce their investigation into the suitability of recommendations made by Morgan Stanley financial advisors to their retail clients to purchase Seadrill, Cobalt International Energy and other oil and gas investments, including master limited partnerships (MLPs). The...Read More

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (January 12, 2016) – Silver Law Group and the Law Firm of David R. Chase, P.A. announce their investigation into the suitability of recommendations made by Raymond James financial advisors to their retail clients to purchase Linn Energy (“LINE”) and other oil and gas investments, including master limited partnerships (MLPs). The Law...Read More

While the SEC has always prioritized insider trading investigations in its enforcement program, and publicly touts its successful cases when filed and settled, the truth is that many insider trading investigations simply do not see the light of day and are closed without enforcement action. The reason: insider trading is very difficult for the SEC...Read More