Bankers and Brokers and Inside Traders Arrested, Oh My!
Posted by consciouslyconnecting Jul 25, 2012 Blog | 3 Comments
Out of curiosity I Googled bankers, brokers and inside traders with arrested and July. Here’s the results:
Bankers and Brokers and Inside Traders Arrested, Oh My!
6/23/12: Social welfare ‘scam’: Two bank officials arrested Muzaffarnagar, India Jul 23 (PTI) Two officials of a public sector bank were arrested for their alleged involvement in a multi-crore Rupee scam in the Uttar Pradesh social welfare department, police said today. The bank’s branch manager Pramod Sharma and cashier Rajender Sharma were arrested yesterday in this connection, SP (City) Raj Kamal Yadav said. He also said that a hunt was on to nab Anil Verma, the main accused in the scam that took place during 2008-09. A former district welfare officer, Rinku Singh Rahi, had alleged a multi-crore scam in the social welfare department by staging a dharna in Lucknow seeking reply to an RTI query in connection with the “scam”. The Samajwadi Party government had ordered a probe into Rahi’s charges after coming to power in March this year.
6/25/12: Ex-SMBC Banker Arrested Amid Insider Trading Probe - Tokyo, A former SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. executive was arrested yesterday, becoming the first banker from a major Japanese brokerage to be detained for suspected insider trading since 2008. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission and Yokohama city prosecutors are investigating former SMBC Nikko executive Hiroyoshi Yoshioka, 50, and three other people, the financial watchdog said in a statement.
6/25/12: Indonesia: Sumatran city of Medan ‘turning into terror financing centre’ – Jakarta, 25 June (AKI/Jakarta Post) – Indonesian officials said Medan, in North Sumatra, is turning into a centre for terrorism financing, following the arrest of five suspects with assets worth nearly Rp 8 billion (US$848,000), allegedly used to fund paramilitary training and terrorism operations. A suspect led police and armed anti-terrorism personnel to seize four houses, one shop, three cars and seven motorcycles in three locations that were purchased using funds the arrested suspects got from hacking a multi-level marketing website.The members bought the account numbers of bank clients in and outside the country. Some terrorist suspects posed as multi-level marketing members and sought more customers. “The hackers transferred the credit points to their accounts, and then sold them to brokers, who transferred the money equivalent to their bank accounts.”
6/26/12: The Shmuckler Group Owner Sentenced to 90 Months for Mortgage Rescue Fraud Scheme - (Source: FBI) - ALEXANDRIA, VA—Howard R. Shmuckler, 68, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, was sentenced today to 90 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for running a fraudulent mortgage rescue business that received substantial fees but actually modified clients’ mortgages in only a few cases. “Mr. Shmuckler is a cunning criminal who took advantage of distressed homeowners in desperate need of help,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride.
6/26/12: MD Man Indicted in Over $9M Investment Scheme - (Source: FBI) - BALTIMORE—A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Larry Michael Parrish, age 48, of Walkersville, Maryland, with offenses arising from an investment scheme. According to the 25-count indictment, Parrish was the president of IV Capital Ltd., which he represented to be an investment and trading company. Parrish devised a scheme to obtain approximately $9.2 million from nearly 70 individuals who agreed to invest in IV Capital.
6/26/12: Research firm executive arrested on insider trading charges: FBI New York, (Reuters) – Law enforcement authorities said on Tuesday they arrested and charged an executive at an investment research firm as part of the government’s wide-ranging probe of insider trading at the now-defunct Galleon Group hedge fund. Tai Nguyen of research firm Insight Research LLC surrendered to the FBI Tuesday morning, an FBI spokesman said, and was expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan later in the day. Nguyen was facing charges related to insider trading, the FBI said, but the exact charges have not yet been made public. The FBI and federal prosecutors in Manhattan have mounted a campaign to root out insider trading on Wall Street, focusing in part on employees at so-called expert network firms who they say helped funnel corporate secrets from consultants at companies to hedge funds.
6/27/12: Former Loan Officer Clayton Coe From Failed FirstCity Bank Admits Guilty to Bank Fraud Scheme- WASHINGTON, DC – The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced that Clayton A. Coe, 45, of McDonough, Georgia, the former Senior Commercial Loan Officer for FirstCity Bank of Stockbridge, Georgia, which failed and was seized by the FDIC, pleaded guilty yesterday to bank fraud. The plea is in connection with an $800,000 loan that Coe tricked FirstCity Bank’s Board of Directors into approving and from which he personally profited. He also pleaded guilty to filing a false federal income tax return with the IRS that omitted nearly a half million dollars of income from his job at the bank. ”Coe’s greed helped drive FirstCity Bank into the ground. He defrauded the bank to fund his ultimate payday and placed his interest in ill-gotten personal gain ahead of the interests of the bank, its customers, its investors, and the community the bank served. It’s precisely that sort of behavior that has robbed the public of its confidence in the banking industry and its institutions, and for his fraud, Coe will be banned for life from ever again practicing banking.”
6/27/12: Ponzi Schemer Scott Rothstein Knew Fraud Was Collapsing - (Source: Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla — The letter sent Scott Rothstein into a panic, he feared his colossal crimes were about to be exposed. It was February 2009, eight months before his $1.4 billion Ponzi scheme collapsed. A family of investors had sent him the letter demanding their $4.25 million back immediately, and Rothstein was certain they had uncovered his secret. “Holy s***, this is going to explode,” Rothstein recalled thinking. “They figured out the Ponzi scheme. They know there’s no money in the accounts. We are all going to jail.”
6/27/12: Lenny Dykstra Agrees to Plea Deal in Bankruptcy Fraud Case - (Source: Los Angeles Times) - LOS ANGELES — Former baseball star and self-styled financial guru Lenny Dykstra, already sentenced to three years in a California state prison for a car scam, has agreed to a plea deal on federal bankruptcy fraud charges after looting his mansion of valuables as he struggled to battle numerous creditors. Dykstra, who helped the New York Mets win the 1986 World Series and later became a celebrity stock picker before his finances dissolved in chaos in 2009, has racked up a score of charges in recent years. His fall from grace during the last two years has resulted in conviction for a car finance scam and a separate charge of lewd conduct with a deadly weapon. Federal prosecutors entered under seal a plea agreement with Dykstra in connection with his embezzlement from the bankruptcy estate case.
6/27/12: A Stockbroker’s Undisclosed Arrest Sets Off A Regulatory Cavalcade Of Disaster - For the purpose of proposing a settlement of rule violations alleged by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), without admitting or denying the findings, prior to a regulatory hearing, and without an adjudication of any issue, Bruce Parish Hutson submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”), which FINRA accepted. The AWC alleges that on April 21, 2009, Hutson was arrested for retail theft based on allegations that he stole merchandise from a retail store in Wisconsin. Contrary to Firm policy, Hutson did not advise his member firm of the arrest.
6/27/12: Barclays to Pay More Than $450 Million in Interest-Rate Settlement - (Source:Los Angeles Times) – NEW YORK — Barclays Bank PLC has agreed to pay more than $450 million to settle charges it attempted to manipulate keyinterest rates. The London-based investment bank announced settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the BritishFinancial Services Authority. Investigators found the bank manipulated the London InterBank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate, or EURIBOR, benchmark interest rates used in the world’s financial markets.
6/28/12: Mortgage Scheme Nets Crofton Man a Prison Sentence - (Source: By Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun - A Crofton man was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison for redirecting about $5 million in mortgage payoffs on 17 Maryland properties to himself and a co-defendant, according to federal prosecutors. Todd R. Bettin, 42, was assistant manager of At Home Mortgage when he conspired with the owner of a Gambrills settlement company to illegally benefit from money intended to pay off clients’ mortgages.
6/27/12: Bidzina Ivanishvili’s banks and company arrested - Georgia, Tbilisi, National Bureau of Georgia continues performing the proceedings of the “Georgia Dream” coalition leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili. As told Trend in Bureau, gathering information was carried out on the property registered on billionaire. Executive Bureau requested the national Bank of Georgia, the identity of a beneficial owner of the banks “Kartu” and “Progress bank” and found that the owner of 100% stake in the bank “Kartu” is a “Kartu group”, and 21.7% shares of “Progress bank” – the owner of the beneficiary. Information provided by the National Bank of Georgia, found that, in accordance with the law on commercial banks face when buying a share of the bank is obliged to put in the prescribed manner notify the National Bank. In case of non compliance with this rule, the transaction for the sale of shares is not valid. Because the National Bank of Georgia was not represented by a declaration in order to change ownership of the beneficiary bank “Kartu”, the owner of 100% stake in the bank “Kartu” is still Bidzina Ivanishvili.
6/29/12: Karkala: Bank Manager Arrested for Fraud - Karkala, Jun 29: Suresh KP (29) who was working as a manager in Bhuvanendra branch of Syndicate bank was arrested on charges of misappropriating funds on Wednesday June 27 and was sent to Hiriyadka Jail. It is learnt that he opened fake accounts in fictitious names and created fake loans on them. He used to withdraw money from ATMs, committing a fraud of Rs 13.84 lac.
6/29/12: FBI says arrests Bernard Madoff’s brother - NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters) – The FBI said on Friday it had arrested Peter Madoff, the younger brother of swindler Bernard Madoff, who is serving a 150-year prison sentence for his multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme. The arrest of Peter Madoff was expected as he is due in federal court in Manhattan later Friday to plead guilty to charges related to his brother’s decades-long fraud. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday revealed in a letter that Peter Madoff had been criminally charged with participating in his brother’s fraud. He is the first Madoff family member to be arrested and charged.
7/2/12: Catonsville RE Appraiser Pleads Guilty for Trying to Obtain $4.3M in Fraudulent Mortgage Loans - (Source: FBI) - BALTIMORE—Real estate appraiser David C. Christian, age 62, of Catonsville, Maryland pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to his guilty plea, Christian appraised a number of properties on behalf of purchasers who were seeking financing through a mortgage brokerage company. At the request of a co-conspirator who controlled the mortgage brokerage company, Christian prepared at least 17 fraudulent appraisals for $4,306,950 in loans originated at the mortgage company. Christian falsified the appraisals by using fake photos and descriptions of the properties, misrepresenting the condition of the properties, and used inappropriate comparable properties. The total loss for the 17 loans amounted to $2,661,366.
7/2/12: Four Defendants Indicted in Alleged $9.1M Mortgage Fraud Scheme - (Source: FBI) - CHICAGO—Four defendants, including a licensed realtor and two licensed loan originators, were indicted for allegedly participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain at least 42 residential mortgage loans totaling approximately $9.1 million from various lenders, federal law enforcement officials announced today. The indictment alleges that the mortgages were obtained to finance the purchase of properties throughout Chicago by buyers who were fraudulently qualified for loans while the defendants allegedly profited. The lenders and their successors incurred losses totaling approximately $4.7 million because the mortgages were not fully recovered through subsequent sales or foreclosures. All four defendants were charged with various counts of bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud in a five-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury last Thursday. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of at least $4.7 million.
7/2/12: Gary Foster: Former VP of Citigroup Sentenced to 97 Month in Prison for Embezzlement - (Source: FBI) — Gary Foster, a former vice president in Citigroup, Inc.’s treasury finance department, was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment today on a conviction for bank fraud arising from his embezzlement of more than $22 million from Citigroup. Foster embezzled by first transferring money to Citigroup’s cash account and then wiring it to his personal bank account at another bank. Foster used the money to buy real estate and luxury automobiles, including a Ferrari and a Maserati. In total, the value of the seized and restrained property is estimated to be approximately $14 million.
7/2/12: Four Defendants Indicted in Alleged $9.1M Mortgage Fraud Scheme - (Source: FBI) - CHICAGO—Four defendants, including a licensed realtor and two licensed loan originators, were indicted for allegedly participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain at least 42 residential mortgage loans totaling approximately $9.1 million from various lenders, federal law enforcement officials announced today. The indictment alleges that the mortgages were obtained to finance the purchase of properties throughout Chicago by buyers who were fraudulently qualified for loans while the defendants allegedly profited. All four defendants were charged with various counts of bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud in a five-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury last Thursday.
7/2/12: FTC Wins Multi Million Dollar Case Against Foreclosure Assistance Scam That Gave False Promises - (Source: FTC) — The Federal Trade Commission won a $2.6 million federal court judgment against three defendants behind a scheme that charged consumers large upfront fees and failed to deliver the mortgage modifications they promised. The FTC alleged that the defendants behind Crowder Law Group promised relief from burdensome mortgages by falsely claiming they could modify consumers’ mortgages and substantially reduce their monthly payments; exaggerating the role an attorney would play in obtaining a loan modification; and pretending to be affiliated with a government agency.
7/3/12: Mortgage Broker Gets Probation - (Source: The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo. – A Pueblo mortgage broker convicted in May of bilking at least $160,000 from a friend, was sentenced Monday to five years probation and may serve a 90-day jail term pending an appeal. Anthony Paglione, 61, was convicted for misappropriating money from Vincent Gagliano through a complicated series of loan swaps between two Pueblo homes. Paglione said the financial collapse the country has seen is one reason for what has happened.
7/4/12: Bank official threatens client, held - KOLKATA: A senior official of a private bank was has been arrested for allegedly sending threat mails to a city businessman. Sunil Bansali was rounded by police from Park Street on Monday night, police rounded from Park Street rounded up the bank official. Later, Bansali was produced in court and later released on bail. Sahni alleged that Bansali had demanded cut money to process the loan application, but Sahni turned him down. This made Bansali furious. He reportedly started harassing Sahni for money and later threatened to cancel the application.
7/5/12: U.S. Group: Lebanese Banks Laundering Money - (Source: The Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon) — An anti-Iranian U.S. activist group is piling pressure on U.S. and European banks to dump their holding of Lebanese sovereign debt, describing Lebanon’s banking sector as a front for Iranian money laundering in cooperation with Hezbollah. “As a result of the actions and omissions of BDL [Lebanon's Central Bank] and the LBS [Lebanese banking system], Lebanon has become a sovereign money laundering jurisdiction that receives massive inflows of illicit deposits … from Hezbollah’s terror and criminal activities, and the illicit symbiotic relationships among Iran, Syria and Hezbollah,” said a press release issued Tuesday by the New York-based group United against Nuclear Iran. UANI argued that despite Lebanon’s “great risk of sovereign default” due to its high debt to GDP ratio, Lebanese sovereign bonds showed “irrational strength” that corresponds with increased pressure against Iran. UANI is also pushing to bar Lebanese financial institutions from participating in the U.S. financial system, urging the U.S. Treasury to designate Lebanon’s financial system as a “money laundering concern” under a statute of the Patriot Act.
7/5/12: Boxford Man Pleads Guilty to $6.9M Fraud Scheme - (Source: FBI) – ALEXANDRIA, VA—James W. Massaro, 70, of Boxford, Massachusetts, pled guilty today to engaging in a fraudulent foreign investment scheme that defrauded at least 20 victims of more than $6.9 million. Massaro pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on September 21, 2012.
7/5/12: Threat To Broker’s Client Assets Ends - The winding-up of a former Bahamian broker/dealer whose principal pled guilty in the US to money laundering is close to completion, its liquidator saying the Attorney-General’s withdrawal of a Forfeiture Order registration had eliminated a potential threat to client assets.
7/6/12: Prosecutors seek arrest warrant for Lee’s brother, ruling party lawmaker over bank scandal SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) — Prosecutors on Friday sought court warrants to arrest President Lee Myung-bak’s elder brother and a ruling party lawmaker for further questioning about their alleged involvement in a bank bribery scandal. Lee Sang-deuk, a 77-year-old former lawmaker of the ruling Saenuri Party, and Chung Doo-un, a legislator from the same party, were specifically ch