Articles
NASAA List of Top 10 Investor Traps
On August 3, 2010, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) released its annual list of top 10 traps that investors know about. NASAA President and Texas Securities Commissioner Denise Voigt Crawford said investors rebuilding nest eggs damaged...
Ponzi Scheme Series: FBI Charges New Jersey Real Estate Investment Promoter Eliyahu Weinstein with Operating a Ponzi Scheme
According to the FBI complaint, Eliyahu Weinstein operated a Ponzi scheme in New Jersey beginning as early as September 2005 through an entity called Pine Projects, LLC. It appears that at least $200 million of investor capital has been lost. Like many other Ponzi...
VICTIMS OF INVESTMENT FRAUD ARE MORE LIKELY TO RELY ON THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE WHEN MAKING INVESTMENT DECISIONS
August 12, 2010 by Jeffrey Wittenberg, Esq. This morning, like virtually every morning for the last year, I woke up to a news report that the federal government has shut down a Ponzi scheme. Like many before it, this Ponzi scheme was a so-called “affinity” scam,...
Ponzi Scheme Series: SEC Shuts Down Ponzi Operation in Canton, Michigan
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, against C.J.’s Financial and, its Chief Financial Officer, Candice D. Campbell, alleging that Campbell has been running a Ponzi scheme...
Ponzi Scheme Series: Federal Prosecutors Charge Santa Ana Investment Adviser with Operating a Ponzi Scheme
According to the Associated Press, Federal prosecutors have charged a Southern California investment adviser on charges he bilked elderly residents in a $6 million Ponzi scheme. Richard H. Nickles, the owner of Innovative Advisory Services in Santa Ana, was charged...
SEC Shuts Down Orange County, California, Penny Stock Boiler Room Operation
On August 4, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, alleging that Kensington Resources, Inc. through its principals, Joseph R. Porche and Larry R. Crowder and sales agents,...
The Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010 — A Flow Chart
This flow chart is designed to answer general questions that you may have about whether the Private Fund Investment Adviser Act of 2010 (“Private Fund Act”) will force you to register your advisory firm with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Private...
Press Release: Jeffrey Wittenberg, Esq., Has Been Appointed to the Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar
For Immediate Release Date July 19, 2010 Contact Jeffrey Wittenberg, Esq. 877-352-2010 Wittenberg Law is pleased to announce that Jeffrey Wittenberg has been appointed to a four year term as a member of the Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the...
SEC Investigating Securities Fraud Related to the Issue and Sale of “Principal Protected” Notes
According to a recent Bloomberg article, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating misleading marketing by Wall Street banks of so-called “principal protection." The investigation focuses on notes issued by now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers that...
Press Release: Wittenberg Law is Investigating the Mitchell, Porter & Williams Ponzi Operation
For Immediate Release Date July 1, 2010 Contact Jeffrey Wittenberg, Esq. 877-352-2010 Wittenberg Law has commenced an investigation into the alleged Ponzi scheme operated by the investment advisory firm of Mitchell, Porter & Williams (MPW). On March 3, 2010, the...