SEC ANNOUNCES BODY ARMY CORPORATE DIRECTORS TO $1.6 MILLION TO SETTLE ACCOUNTING FRAUD CHARGES

The following excerpt is from the SEC website: November 15, 2011 “The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ordered three former directors to pay more than $1.6 million in monetary sanctions to settle charges that they were involved in an accounting fraud at a major supplier of body armor to the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies. The settlements by Cary Chasin, Jerome Krantz and Gary Nadelman - former members of the board of directors at Pompano Beach, Fla.-based DHB Industries - impose permanent officer-and-director bars in addition to monetary sanctions. The final judgments entered on November 10, 2011, find Chasin liable for disgorgement of $100,000 plus prejudgment interest of $5,723 and a penalty of $100,000; Krantz liable for disgorgement of $375,000 plus prejudgment interest of $21,464 and a penalty of $100,000, and Nadelman liable for disgorgement of $820,000 plus prejudgment interest of $46,935 and a penalty of $100,000. The final judgments also bar Chasin, Krantz and Nadelman from acting as officers or directors of any issuer that has a class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In addition, the final judgments enjoin Chasin, Krantz and Nadelman from violating Sections 10(b) and 14(a) and Rules 10b-5 and 14a-9 of the Exchange Act and from aiding and abetting violations of Sections 10(b), 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A), and 13(b)(2)(B) and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, and 13a-13 of the Exchange Act, and enjoins Nadelman from violating Section 13(b)(5) and Rules 13b2-1 and 13b2-2 of the Exchange Act. Chasin, Krantz and Nadelman agreed to settle the SEC's charges without admitting or denying the allegations.”

SEC TRIES TO STOP IPO SCAM OF TECH COMPANIES LIKE FACEBOOK AND GROUPON

The following excerpt is from the SEC website: “Washington, D.C., Nov. 17, 2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed an emergency enforcement action to stop a fraudulent scheme targeting investors seeking coveted stock in Internet and technology companies like Facebook and Groupon in advance of a public offering. The SEC alleges that Florida resident John A. Mattera and several other individuals carried out the scam using a newly-minted hedge fund named The Praetorian Global Fund. They falsely claimed that the fund and affiliated Praetorian entities owned shares worth tens of millions of dollars in privately-held companies that were expected to soon hold an initial public offering (IPO) including Facebook, Groupon, and others. Taking advantage of investor interest in pre-IPO shares that are virtually impossible for company outsiders to obtain, Mattera and others solicited funds and gave investors a false sense of comfort that their money was protected by telling them that an escrow service was receiving their funds. In reality, according to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, Mattera and his cohorts never owned the promised pre-IPO shares in these companies. The purported escrow service, headed by John R. Arnold of Florida, merely transferred investor funds to personal accounts controlled by Mattera and Arnold. After Arnold took a cut of the money for himself, Mattera stole most of the remaining funds to afford his lavish personal expenses and pay others for their roles in the scheme. “By conjuring up a seemingly prestigious hedge fund and touting the safety of an escrow agent, these men exploited investors’ desire to get an inside track on a wave of hyped future IPOs,” said George S. Canellos, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. “Even as investors believed their funds were sitting safely in escrow accounts, Mattera plundered those accounts to bankroll a lifestyle of private jets, luxury cars, and fine art.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which conducted a parallel investigation of the matter, today filed criminal charges against Mattera, who was arrested earlier today. The SEC is seeking an emergency court order to freeze the assets of Mattera, Arnold, Joseph Almazon of Hicksville, N.Y., David E. Howard II of New York City, Bradford Van Siclen of Montclair, N.J., and eight different entities also charged in the SEC’s complaint. The SEC alleges that Mattera, who has been a subject of a prior SEC enforcement action and several state criminal actions, used investor proceeds to compensate Van Siclen and others for their involvement in promoting the fraudulent offerings. Howard, who was separately charged by the SEC earlier this year for his role in a boiler room operation, worked for Mattera as an authorized representative of the Praetorian hedge fund. Mattera, Van Siclen, and Howard were each actively involved in providing false documents and information to broker-dealer representatives in pitching their clients to invest in the Praetorian entities. They raised at least $12 million from investors across the country during the past 15 months. Almazon controls Long Island-based unregistered broker-dealer Spartan Capital Partners, which raised a significant portion of the money in the Praetorian entities. The SEC’s complaint alleges that Spartan Capital solicited investments by phone, word of mouth, and advertisements on professional networking website LinkedIn.com. One advertisement read in part: “[Spartan] can offer the opportunity to buy pre-IPO shares of the following companies: Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, Bloom Energy, Fisker, and Groupon.” Another ad stated: “We have access to Fisker Auto, Groupon, Ren Ren, Bloom Energy and many more! Unlike most of the other investment banking firms, we let you sell your shares right at the open! You also do not need to be in NY to invest in our IPOs!” According to the SEC’s complaint, the purported escrow accounts at Arnold’s firm — First American Service Transmittals Inc. (FAST) — played a critical role in the fraudulent scheme. Mattera and Van Siclen told investors verbally and in writing that their investments would be held in escrow with FAST. Arnold, who was charged together with Mattera in a previous SEC enforcement action, falsely held out FAST as an escrow agent for the investments. Almost immediately after receiving investors’ deposits, however, Arnold released the money to himself and entities controlled by Mattera, who misappropriated investors’ funds for private jets, luxury cars, fine art, jewelry, and other personal uses. He also transferred money to his mother Ann Mattera and his wife Lan Phan. They are named as relief defendants in the SEC’s complaint for the purpose of reclaiming investor funds unrightfully in their possession. The SEC’s complaint charges Mattera, Van Siclen, the Praetorian Fund, Praetorian G Power I LLC, Praetorian G Power II LLC, Praetorian G IV, Praetorian G Power V LLC, and Praetorian G Power VI LLC, Arnold, and First American Service Transmittals Inc. with violations, or aiding and abetting violations of, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5. The complaint further charges Mattera, Van Siclen, the Praetorian G entities, Almazon, Spartan Capital Partners, and Howard with violating Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act by engaging in the unregistered offering of securities, and Almazon and Spartan Capital with violations of Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act by acting as unregistered brokers. The SEC seeks a temporary restraining order as well as preliminary and permanent injunctive relief and financial penalties against the defendants, as well as disgorgement by defendants and relief defendants of their ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest. The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Karen Willenken, Michael Osnato, Richard Needham, and Yvette Quinteros of the New York Regional Office. The SEC’s litigation effort will be led by Preethi Krishnamurthy. The SEC thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Internal Revenue Service, and Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority for their assistance in this matter."

DOCTOR PRESCRIBED TRADING SCHEME THAT SAVED HEDGEFUNDS $30 MILLION

The following excerpt is from the SEC website: November 17, 2011 “The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that on November 16, 2011, the Honorable Deborah A. Batts of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments against Dr. Joseph F. Skowron III and Dr. Yves M. Benhamou in the SEC’s insider trading case, SEC v. Joseph F. “Chip” Skowron III, et al., Civil Action No. 10-CV-8266-DAB (S.D.N.Y.). The SEC charged Benhamou, a French doctor and medical researcher, with unlawfully tipping material, non-public information to Skowron, a former hedge fund portfolio manager, who was charged with using the inside information to trade ahead of a January 23, 2008 negative announcement, helping the hedge funds he managed avoid losses of approximately $30 million. At the time of the alleged conduct, Skowron managed six health care-related hedge funds affiliated with FrontPoint Partners LLC. The SEC alleged that Skowron sold hedge fund holdings of Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) based on tips he received unlawfully from Benhamou, who served on the Steering Committee overseeing HGSI’s clinical trial for Albuferon, a potential drug to treat Hepatitis C. Benhamou tipped Skowron with material, non-public information about the trial as he learned of negative developments that occurred in December 2007 and January 2008. In response, Skowron ordered the sale of the entire position in HGSI stock — approximately six million shares held by the six funds. HGSI announced changes to the trial resulting from the negative developments on January 23, 2008, which led to a 44 percent drop in share price by the end of the day. The hedge funds avoided losses of approximately $30 million by selling their positions in advance of the news. The SEC alleged that, at various points in the relationship, including after the illegal HGSI trades were completed, Skowron gave Benhamou envelopes of cash both in appreciation of his work and to induce Benhamou to lie about their communications. The final judgments permanently enjoin Skowron and Benhamou from violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. Skowron was ordered to disgorge $29,017,156 (a joint and several obligation with the relief defendants), plus $1,360,000 (for which he is individually obligated), plus prejudgment interest of $5,142,782, and to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $2,720,000. Benhamou was ordered to disgorge $52,138, plus prejudgment interest of $8,237. The six hedge funds, which were named solely as relief defendants, were ordered to disgorge $29,017,156, plus prejudgment interest of $4,003,669; the final judgment against Skowron provides that his disgorgement and prejudgment interest (but not penalty) obligation shall be credited dollar for dollar by amounts the relief defendants are ordered to disgorge and/or by amounts that Skowron is ordered to forfeit in the related criminal action. Both Skowron and Benhamou pled guilty in parallel criminal cases before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, titled United States v. Joseph F. Skowron III, 11-CR-00699-DLC (S.D.N.Y.) and United States v. Yves M. Benhamou, 11-CR-336-GBD (S.D.N.Y.).”

MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREES TO PAY $3.3 TO SETTLE FRAUD CHARGES

The following is an excerpt from the SEC website: “Washington, D.C., Nov. 16, 2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) with violating securities laws in a fee arrangement that repeatedly charged a fund and its investors for advisory services they weren’t actually receiving from a third party. The SEC’s Enforcement Division Asset Management Unit has been focused on fee arrangements with registered funds. The SEC’s investigation found that MSIM — the primary investment adviser to The Malaysia Fund — represented to investors and the fund’s board of directors that it contracted a Malaysian-based sub-adviser to provide advice, research and assistance to MSIM for the benefit of the fund, which invests in equity securities of Malaysian companies. The sub-adviser did not provide these purported advisory services, yet the fund’s board annually renewed the contract based on MSIM’s representations for more than a decade at a total cost of $1.845 million to investors. MSIM agreed to pay more than $3.3 million to settle the SEC’s charges. The SEC’s Asset Management Unit has an initiative inquiring into the investment advisory contract renewal process and fee arrangements in the fund industry. “We want to take the advisory fee setting process out of the shadows by scrutinizing the role of investment advisers and fund board members in vetting fee arrangements with registered funds,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. According to the SEC’s order instituting the settled administrative proceedings, The Malaysia Fund’s board of directors evaluated and approved the sub-adviser fees each year from 1996 to 2007 based on MSIM’s representations during what’s known as the “15(c) process.” Section 15(c) of the Investment Company Act requires an investment adviser to provide a fund’s board with information that is reasonably necessary to evaluate the terms of any contract whereby a person undertakes regularly to serve as an investment adviser of a registered investment company. “MSIM failed in its duty to provide the fund’s board members with the information they needed to fulfill their significant responsibility of reviewing and approving the sub-adviser’s contract,” said Bruce Karpati, Co-Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit. “MSIM’s failure undermined the integrity of the board’s oversight process.” According to the SEC’s order, MSIM arranged The Malaysia Fund’s sub-advisory agreement with a subsidiary of AM Bank Group, one of the largest banking groups in Malaysia. Despite the research and advisory agreement stating that the AM Bank Group subsidiary (AMMB) would provide MSIM with “investment advice, research and assistance, as [MSIM] shall from time to time reasonably request,” the SEC found that AMMB merely provided two monthly reports based on publicly available information that MSIM neither requested nor used in its management of the fund. Furthermore, MSIM’s oversight and involvement with AMMB during the relevant time period were wholly inadequate. MSIM had no written procedures specifically governing its oversight of sub-advisers, and did not have a procedure in place for reviewing work done by AMMB. According to the SEC’s order, MSIM also was responsible for preparing and filing the fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. The fund’s filings stated that for an advisory fee, AMMB provided MSIM with “investment advice, research and assistance.” Since AMMB was not providing any advisory services, MSIM prepared and filed false information in the annual and semi-annual reports. “Not only did MSIM’s internal controls fail in allowing this purported services arrangement to go on, but the firm repeatedly issued reports to investors that inaccurately represented those services,” said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office. “MSIM clearly lost sight of this sub-adviser.” According to the SEC’s order, the fund’s sub-adviser contract with AMMB was terminated in early 2008 after the SEC’s examination staff inquired into the fund’s relationship with the sub-adviser. The SEC’s order finds that MSIM willfully violated Sections 15(c) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act and Sections 206(2) and (4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and Rule 206(4)-7 thereunder. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, MSIM agreed to a censure and to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of those provisions. MSIM agreed to repay the fund $1.845 million for the sub-adviser’s fees and pay a $1.5 million penalty. MSIM also agreed to implement policies and procedures specifically governing the Section 15(c) process and its oversight of service providers. The SEC’s case was handled by Chad Alan Earnst, Christine Lynch, and Jessica Weiner, members of the Asset Management Unit in the Miami Regional Office, and Tonya Tullis, staff accountant. Karen Stevenson, Susan Schneider, and Dennis Delaney from the SEC’s Washington D.C. office conducted the related examinations. The SEC acknowledges the assistance of the Securities Commission of Malaysia and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The SEC’s investigation is continuing.”

FORMER CEO AGREES TO RETURN BONUS MONEY RECEIVED WHILE HIS COMPANY WAS COOKING THE BOOKS

(RARE AND/OR WELL DONE!) The following excerpt is from the SEC website: “Washington, D.C., Nov. 15, 2011 –The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that the former chief executive officer and chairman of CSK Auto Corporation has agreed to return $2.8 million in bonus compensation and stock profits that he received while the company was committing accounting fraud. Maynard L. Jenkins of Scottsdale, Ariz., was not personally charged by the SEC for the company’s misconduct, however he is still required under Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) to reimburse CSK Auto for incentive-based compensation and stock sale profits that he received during the company’s fraudulent period. The SEC filed court papers against Jenkins in July 2009 saying he violated the SOX “clawback” provision by failing to reimburse the company. It marked the agency’s first SOX clawback case against an individual who was not alleged to have otherwise violated the securities laws. "CEOs should know that they can be deprived of bonuses or stock profits they received while accounting fraud was occurring on their watch," said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. Rosalind Tyson, Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office, added, “Jenkins received incentive-based pay while CSK Auto was fraudulently overstating its income to shareholders. His bonuses and stock profits are now being rightfully returned to the company for the benefit of the shareholders.” The settlement with Jenkins is subject to court approval. Jenkins has agreed to reimburse $2,796,467 to O’Reilly Automotive Inc., which has since acquired CSK Auto. The SEC previously charged four former CSK Auto executives who perpetrated the accounting fraud, and separately charged the company for filing false financial statements for fiscal years 2002 to 2004. The company settled the charges, and the litigation against three of the former executives is continuing (CSK’s former chief operating officer has since died). The U.S. Department of Justice brought a criminal indictment against those same executives, who have pleaded guilty to various charges. CSK Auto recently entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ in which it agreed to pay a $20.9 million penalty. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Dabney O’Riordan, Robert Conrrad, Rhoda Chang, Spencer Bendell, and Lorraine Echavarria in the Los Angeles Regional Office. The litigation effort was led by Donald Searles. The SEC thanks the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, and U.S. Postal Service for their substantial assistance in the investigation.”

INVESTMENT ADVISOR CHARGED WITH COMMITTING WIRE FRAUD

The following excerpt comes from the SEC website: “The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts has charged Andrey C. Hicks of Boston, Mass., in a criminal complaint unsealed on Friday, October 28, 2011. Hicks was charged with committing wire fraud, attempting to commit wire fraud, and aiding and abetting wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sections 1343, 1349, and 2. On October 26, 2011, the SEC filed an emergency enforcement action charging Hicks and Locust Offshore Management, LLC, his investment advisory firm, with fraud in connection with misleading prospective investors about their supposed quantitative hedge fund and diverting investor money to the money manager’s personal bank account. The SEC alleges in its complaint that Hicks and his advisory firm made misrepresentations about his education, work experience, and the hedge fund’s auditor, prime broker/custodian, and corporate status when soliciting individuals to invest in the purported hedge fund, called Locust Offshore Fund, Ltd. By making these representations and creating other indicia of legitimacy, the SEC alleged that Hicks may have obtained at least $1.7 million from 10 investors and may have misappropriated at least a portion of these funds for personal expenses. In the Commission’s action, the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order on October 26 that, among other things, freezes the assets of the money manager, his advisory firm, and the hedge fund. On October 28, 2011, the Court converted the temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction that will continue the asset freeze and other relief until further order of the Court.”