The Wall Street Legal & Regulatory Feed
Securities Industry Commentator by Bill Singer Esq
June 6, 2018
SEC Charges "Whale Whisperer" Musician and His Companies for Defrauding Investors in Fraudulent "Soundwave" Investment Offerings (SEC Litigation Release No. 24156)
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2018/lr24156.htm
In a Complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the SEC alleged that Paul Gilmanand his alleged companies Oil Migration Group LLC, Wavetech29 LLC, and GilmanSound LLC,violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; and the SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement, and civil penalties. READ the FULL TEXT Complaint. https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2018/comp24156.pdf
The SEC Press Release asserts in part that the defendants:
The SEC Press Release asserts in part that the defendants:
fraudulently solicit retail investors, including a nurse, a minister, and a businessman. Gilman, a self-dubbed "Whale Whisperer" who produced and starred in a documentary of his encounters with whales, claimed to be developing a revolutionary "soundwave" technology that would transform the oil and gas industry. According to the complaint, Gilman told OMG and Wavetech investors that he would use their funds to test, validate, further develop, and license the soundwave technology for use in oil and gas industry applications, and he promised the investors substantial profits. Instead, Gilman is alleged to have used substantially all of the investor funds for his personal benefit, including to pay for luxury Las Vegas hotels, restaurants, designer clothing, and large cash withdrawals at casino ATMs. Gilman also allegedly defrauded investors in GilmanSound, a company he claimed would revolutionize sound systems in sport stadiums. While GilmanSound provided some real services to major-league baseball stadiums, the SEC's complaint alleges that a substantial amount of the GilmanSound investor funds also were misused for Gilman's personal expenses.
SEC Modernizes the Delivery of Fund Reports and Seeks Public Feedback on Improving Fund Disclosure (SEC Press Release 2018-103)
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-103
The SEC seeks input from mutual funds, ETFs, and other fund investors about improving fund disclosure and sought feedback on the fees that intermediaries charge for delivering fund reports. READ the FULL TEXT Request for Comment https://www.sec.gov/rules/other/2018/33-10503.pdf
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-103
The SEC seeks input from mutual funds, ETFs, and other fund investors about improving fund disclosure and sought feedback on the fees that intermediaries charge for delivering fund reports. READ the FULL TEXT Request for Comment https://www.sec.gov/rules/other/2018/33-10503.pdf
The Imposter, The Signature, The Unregistered Associate, and a FINRA Bar (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog)
http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4008/finra-impersonation-awc/
In today's BrokeAndBroker.com Blog we come upon the sad tale of an unregistered associate who sought to go the extra step -- the extra mile -- in terms of customer service. When a brokerage customer encountered delays in transferring his account, the associate did what she needed to do in order to break the logjam. In hindsight, she was a tad over zealous. Making matters worse, she lied to FINRA. Alas, it does not end well.
http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4008/finra-impersonation-awc/
In today's BrokeAndBroker.com Blog we come upon the sad tale of an unregistered associate who sought to go the extra step -- the extra mile -- in terms of customer service. When a brokerage customer encountered delays in transferring his account, the associate did what she needed to do in order to break the logjam. In hindsight, she was a tad over zealous. Making matters worse, she lied to FINRA. Alas, it does not end well.
Former head of Sandusky business charged with defrauding investors out of $10 million (DOJ Press Release)
Jared J. Davis was indicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio n multiple charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money, wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice a allegedly fraudulent binary options investment scheme that operated between 2012 and 2016 through Erie Marketing LLC and used trade names, including OptionMint, OptionKing and OptionQueen.
The Indictment alleges that Davis' binary options businesses were not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission nor the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; instead, Davis took the opposing position on each trade, which created a conflict of interest whereby he only made money if his investors lost. Davis allegedly solicited victims through Internet marketing campaigns and call centers and he enlisted foreign nationals who, under Davis' direction, created a web of foreign corporations in the United Kingdom, Belize, Anguilla, Costa Rica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Maarten to allegedly receive and launder the victims' deposits.