Litigation

Vania May Bell has admitted to helping her father run a scheme that started in the late 1990s and ended in 2018.

David Hu apologized to the firm’s investors and clients, as well as his wife and two children, before being sentenced.

Federal authorities say Raymond A. Erker ran a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 54 people, but he maintained he did nothing wrong while on the stand.

He says the industry has become much more diverse and supportive, but there’s still a long way to go.

The SEC says Marguerite Cassandra Toroian waited to allocate stock purchases to herself, her family or clients once she knew if the purchases were winners or losers.

After two stints as a rep for Charles Schwab, Russell Joseph Mutter started a Ponzi scheme that ran for nearly a decade in his home county.

Officials said when he could no longer keep his investment fraud running, Scott Nicholson admitted to his clients that their money was gone and their investment was worthless.

Furman Alexander Ford, who once jumped his fence to avoid federal agents, will head back to trial in May for a separate criminal case involving Medicare fraud.

Jeffrey Santulan and his company, Safeguard Metals, are facing enforcement actions by the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and 27 state securities regulators.

FINRA alleges the firm failed to maintain control of billions of dollars in securities and spent more than a decade inaccurately disclosing potential conflicts of interest.

Officials said for nearly a decade, former New York advisor Perry Santillo defrauded clients to throw six-figure birthday parties and fill his closet with $10,000 suits.

Keith Todd Ashley has been arrested, jailed and indicted multiple times in connection to murder, fraud and a fabricated suicide.

Federal authorities say ex-PNC advisor Tara M. Brunst acted as a recruiter in a scheme that defrauded 54 people.

Democrat-leaning states argue that the $10,000 SALT cap deduction is politically motivated and violates the U.S. Constitution.

The midsize wealth manager racked up millions of dollars in sales of an alternative product without adequate due diligence, according to FINRA.

If approved, the agreement would resolve claims over two security breaches that compromised personal information of 15 million current and former clients.

From stealing millions to murder investigations, here are 13 big crime and court stories covered by Financial Planning in 2021.

The firm will pay restitution and fines to settle allegations that it failed to flag more than 100 client accounts for overconcentration in high-yield bonds.

The orders from FINRA and the SEC respectively fault the firms for unsuitable rollovers and deficiencies exposed in a microcap scheme.

Paul Ricky Mata started a real estate scheme in 2008 that allowed him to drain more than 100 victims of millions. His victims will never fully be repaid.