New York Paralegal Blog

You never know what you'll find at a flea market – antiques, toys or even a deal of a lifetime. But special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) warn that those deals of a lifetime may be too good to be true.

Washington, D.C., April 5, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Wells Fargo Securities LLC agreed to settle charges that Wachovia Capital Markets LLC engaged in misconduct in the sale of two collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) tied to the performance of residential mortgage-backed securities as the U.S. housing market was beginning to show signs of distress in late 2006 and early 2007. The SEC’s order found that Wachovia Capital Markets violated the securities laws in two respects. First, Wachovia Capital Markets charged undisclosed excessive markups in the sale of certain preferred shares or equity of a CDO called Grand Avenue II to the Zuni Indian Tribe and an individual investor. As detailed in the order, Wachovia Capital Markets marked down $5.5 million of equity to 52.7 cents on the dollar after the deal closed and it was unable to find a buyer. Months later, the Zuni Indian Tribe and the individual investor paid 90 and 95 cents on the dollar. Un...

The Federal Trade Commission today issued a Final Rule that will prohibit market manipulation in the petroleum industry. The Rule will prohibit fraud or deceit in wholesale petroleum markets, and omissions of material information that are likely to distort petroleum markets. The FTC’s approval of the Rule concludes a proceeding that incorporated several rounds of public comment. The Final Rule will become effective on November 4, 2009. The Commission issued this Rule under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, pursuant to a provision included by Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington State. “This new Rule will allow us to crack down on fraud and manipulation that can drive up prices at the pump,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “We will police the oil markets – and if we find companies that are manipulating the markets, we will go after them.” The Final Rule announced today retains the anti-fraud approach of the April 2009 revised proposed rule. The Rule prohibits fraudu...

RENO, Nev. Scolaris Warehouse Markets will pay $425,000 and furnish other relief to settle a class sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced on September 18, 2008. The EEOC charged in its lawsuit that 19 female employees, several of whom were teenagers at the time, were subjected to repeated and sometimes severe sexual harassment by the companys senior officers across multiple stores in the Reno area. The EEOC asserted that Scolaris senior officers and managers inappropriately touched female employees, propositioned them, made lewd comments and passed around naked photos of themselves, among other acts. In addition, the EEOC charged that Scolaris management failed to address and correct the unlawful conduct, even when the victims complained about it. Instead, the women were fired or were forced to abandon their jobs after they complained about the harassment. More...