South Florida Arbitration & Litigation Lawyer Blog

You have heard of the word fishing but what about its cousin “phishing.” Please read below to gain valuable knowledge about what “phishing” is and how to protect yourself. Watch out for “phishy” emails. The most common form of phishing is emails pretending to be from a legitimate retailer, bank, organization, or government agency. The…

The Statute of Limitations is a shield that respondents, in arbitration, and defendants, in judicial proceedings, use to protect themselves even if they know that through their action or inaction they have harmed the investing public. Luckily, the Second District Court of Appeals, in the State of Florida, has recently issued an opinion, which, for…

In bad economic times, especially if you are having problems making your mortgage payments, there are things that you can do to try and legitimately help yourself out of your problems. However, one of them is not to pay upfront fees to try and refinance your mortgage or other large debts. Legitimate lenders don’t usually…

Fake Check Scams are alive and well. The people behind these scams are brazen in all aspects of their fraudulent conduct. Just to demonstrate how aggressive these people are, I have had these fraudsters attempt to pull the scam on me. Here are a few tips for recognizing and avoiding fake check scams. If someone…

Many legitimate companies and charities solicit consumers by phone. Unfortunately, con artists use the phone, too. They rob people every day, with phones as their weapons. Fraudulent telemarketers understand human nature. We all want to believe that it’s our lucky day, that we can get a great deal, or that we can solve our problems.…

Excessive or Unnecessary Mark-up fraud and Misrepresentation FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq. December, 2011: The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a former securities trader at a San Diego-based brokerage firm with orchestrating an illegal trading scheme. The SEC alleges that Aurelio Rodriguez acted in concert with a Mexican investment adviser,…

Municipal Bond Fraud and Misrepresentation FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Lawyer, Russell L. Forkey, Esq. December, 2011: The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged GE Funding Capital Market Services with securities fraud for participating in a wide-ranging scheme involving the reinvestment of proceeds from the sale of municipal securities. GE Funding CMS agreed to settle the…

Fraudulent Pump and Dump Litigation Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq. December, 2011: SEC v. Heart Tronics, Inc., et al., Case No. SACV-11-1962-JVS (ANx) (C.D. Cal.) SEC Charges Heart Tronics, Inc. and Six Individuals in Connection with a Series of Fraudulent Schemes Pumping Company Stock The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit today in federal…

Sale of Unregistered Securities Litigation and FINRA Arbitration Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq. December, 2011: SEC v. Myron Weiner, Civil Action No. 11-CV-5731 (E.D.N.Y.) (DLI)(RER) SEC Obtains Injunction Against Myron Weiner for Unregistered Sales of Spongetech Delivery Systems, Inc. Stock; Weiner Ordered to Pay Over $1.3 Million The United States Securities and Exchange Commission recently…

December, 2011: The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a longtime Bernie Madoff employee with falsifying books and records in order to hide Madoff’s fraudulent investment advisory operations from regulators. The SEC alleges that Enrica Cotellessa-Pitz, who worked at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BMIS) for more than 30 years, assisted in falsifying BMIS’s…