According to Investopedia, affinity fraud is a type of investment fraud in which a con artist targets members of an identifiable group based on things such as race, age, religion, etc. The fraudster either is or pretends to be, a member of the group. These schemes work because the victims are more likely to trust […]
Baby Boomers Wearing Bulls Eyes
If the figures coming from the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) are correct, the number of fraud actions involving victims over the age of 50 is staggering. We don’t have 2020 data yet and with COVID, we expect 2020 will be another record breaking year for fraudsters. Sadly, regulatory agencies only have enough resources […]
John Thomas Financial Under Watch – Again! (Stockbroker Fraud Post)
by Brian Mahany From the outside, John Thomas Financial appears to be a pretty respectable place. It’s main office is located at 14 Wall Street, a high rent building across the street from the New York Stock Exchange. It’s president, Anastasios “Tommy” Belesis, has been seen with former New York Mayor (and U.S. Attorney) Rudolph Guiliani. There […]
Grandson Gets Prison For Defrauding Grandfather's Estate
by Brian Mahany This is a very sad story. Unfortunately, it’s one we see with increasing frequency. As millions of families gather for holiday festivities, many of our elderly and disabled family members find themselves the victims of elder fraud and theft. The people committing these terrible crimes? It’s often family members or caregivers. Michael […]
Audit Firm Named In Class Action Suit For Failure To Detect Fraud
The audit system in the United States is largely broken. Most auditors are financially dependent on the very people they are required to audit. If you perform a rigorous audit and get a reputation for not giving clients high markets on their financials you will soon find yourself with no clients. Fail to report something, […]
Former Bank of America Executive Indicted For Fraud
by Brian Mahany Anyone reading this blog knows our opinion on big banks. Chase, Wells Fargo, BONY and especially Bank of America have become “to big to care” in our opinion. Treasury officials may say they are to big to fail but we think that they have outlived their usefulness. Although these banks still do […]
The Real Victim of Political Stalemate? The American Consumer
by Wassim Malas, JD, LLM Despite the “I’m right and you’re wrong” rhetoric commonly heard in the political arena, most decisions by government officials probably lie somewhere between the two, at least when assessed from strictly objective principles. Richard Cordray’s appointment as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is no different. Using the […]
Massachusetts Securities Regulators Slam Broker For Elder Fraud
by Brian Mahany Massachusetts state securities regulators took action against a stockbroker for defrauding an 83 year old woman suffering from Alzheimers. According to a complaint filed by the Massachusetts Securities Division, Paul Dumochel is charged with securities fraud. Regulators say that Dumochel learned that an elderly million had $1.5 million in bank accounts and […]
When Auditors Lie
by Brian Mahany In recent months we have run several stories about the sloppy auditing practices of several accounting firms. From David Friehling, the solo practitioner who served as Bernie Madoff’s auditor, to Arthur Andersen LLP, once one of the “big 5” accounting firms and auditors of Enron, sloppy auditing is nothing new. Investors and […]
FINRA Busts Brokerage Firm For Misleading the Elderly
by Brian Mahany David Lerner Associates, Inc is the latest stockbroker to come under scrutiny by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Regulators say the company targeted elderly and unsophisticated investors and improperly recommended investment in real estate investment trusts (REIT’s) shares without informing their customers of the difficulty in later cashing in these investments. Specifically, […]