Investment Advisor Agrees to Pay $5 Million to Ohio Workers' Comp Fund
June 9, 2008 08:38

A hedge fund manager who was convicted of defrauding the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation to the tune of $216 million has agreed to pay the Bureau $5 million plus court costs to end a civil suit filed against him.

Mark D. Lay of MDL Capital Management and MDL Active Duration Fund has not admitted wrongdoing, but made "'a business decision'" to stop contesting the state's civil lawsuit, his attorney told the Columbus Dispatch Newspaper.

"He has to swallow hard to put this behind him because he needs to move on," Columbus attorney Percy Squire said.

Tags: Mark D. Lay, MDL Capital Management, MDL Active Duration Fund, Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, workers' comp fraud

Enron Case Tests SEC's Allegiances
June 1, 2007 06:40

When the Securities and Exchange Commission files a brief in legal disputes, it is usually a nonevent. But the cases usually don't involve Enron Corp. In recent weeks, the agency has been publicly and noisily pressured by a congressman, a union leader and a Democratic presidential candidate, amid increasing consternation the agency is favoring business interests in its decision making. As a result, the SEC's decision about whether to weigh in on a Supreme Court case as well as on a similar case seeking the high court's attention has become a test of its own motto: ‘investor protection.’ The cases revolve around a similar question: Can shareholders sue third parties, such as investment banks, for another company's fraud? The SEC hasn't been asked by the Supreme Court to file a ‘friend of the court,’ or amicus brief, but lobbying by high-po/wered plaintiffs lawyer Bill Lerach, who represents shareholders in the Enron case, has boxed the agency into a corner. Unless it sides with shareholders, the SEC could be criticized as an ally of business for wanting to restrict the number of ways investors can sue.

Kara Scannell, Wall Street Journal, ConsumerWatchdog.org 5/29/07
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/nw/?postId=8004&pageTitle=
Enron+case+tests+SEC%27s+allegiances

UBS Brokerage Account Fee Fraud
May 8, 2007 07:19

The office of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has filed suit against UBS Financial Services, Inc. (UBS), charging that the company defrauded thousands of customers through its InsightOne brokerage program. The lawsuit details how UBS moved inappropriate... (Read Article)

Equity-Indexed Annuities (EIA): Bad Investments Especially for Seniors
May 5, 2007 08:15

Equity-Indexed Annuities (EIA): Bad Investments Especially for Seniors - http://www.forbes.com/columnists/columnists/free_forbes/2005/0919/240.htmlEquity-indexed annuities EIA are contracts with insurance companies that pay investors part of the capital appreciation... (Read Article)

Single Mother Wins Investment Misconduct Arbitration
January 24, 2007 08:56

Anapol Schwartz obtains settlement for investor victim defrauded by brokerage firmPHILADELPHIA--Catherine Humphrey-Bennett, attorney for Anapol Schwartz law firm recently obtained a six-figure settlement in an NASD arbitration case in favor of a single mother... (Read Article)

States Side with Enron Shareholders in Class Action Lawsuit
January 12, 2007 09:03

California and 29 other states have taken the side of Enron Corp. shareholders seeking damages from big investment banks in a federal case over the banks' alleged role in Enron's accounting fraud.Attorneys general from the 30 states used the SEC's legal arguments... (Read Article)