consumer-fraud-blog

Bloomberg News reports that prosecutors are examining statements by former American International Group Inc. executive Joseph Cassano to see if he misled auditors and investors on subprime mortgage-related losses, said people familiar with the probe.
Investigators are asking auditors at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP about memos they wrote last fall on how Cassano and other AIG executives valued […]

Tim McCarver, the color commentator for World Series broadcasts, and a former Major League Baseball player, has filed for arbitration against Tennessee-based investors Regions Morgan Keegan and Co.

McCarver is looking to receive more than $1.25 million he said he lost in risky investments made by Regions Morgan Keegan. McCarver is a Memphis native and has […]

A Tucson, Ariz.-based adoption agency is being accused of fraud not refunding its adopting families more than $200,000.
The state filed a lawsuit against Commonwealth Adoptions International Inc., which shut down earlier this year. Many foreign countries refused the agency accreditation to place babies with domestic families.
The lawsuit accuses the agency of failing to refund money […]

Commerce Brokerage Services Inc. has agreed to buy $545 million of auction rate securities from 140 investors, according to a settlement announced Wednesday with Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, the St. Louis Business Journal reports. Commerce also agreed to make a $500,000 payment to the Missouri Investor Education and Protection Fund and will […]

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee is currently focusing on bond-ratings firms in its investigation of the mortgage collapse.
Spearheading the investigation is the notion that these firms were driven by a conflict of interest in boosting mortgage investments.
A similar investigation by the House Oversight Committee probed AIG and Lehman Brothers Holdings, firms which failed or needed to […]

Outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who even appeared on Dancing With The Stars, is being accused of insider trading.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission court filing, the brash billionaire basketball franchise owner, also believed to be interested in purchasing the baseball franchise Chicago Cubs and its legendary home Wrigley Field, allegedly sold off his […]

Looks like the auction rate fraud lawsuits aren’t over yet. Reuters reports that Massachusetts’ top securities regulator sued the small investment bank Oppenheimer & Co for fraud on Tuesday, accusing it of deceiving customers in its sales of auction-rate securities.
It is the first time a regulator has charged one of the handful of smaller brokers […]

Florida is first in mortgage fraud and second in foreclosures. The Palm Beach Post reports that with flipping scams involving all facets of the industry to loan originators and borrowers fabricating income, the problems are abundant.
This isn’t just a Florida problem. Mortgage fraud is nothing new. So why does America continue to see an […]

Federal regulators have posted results of four arbitration hearings regarding failed investments with Regions Morgan Keegan & Co. mutual funds.
Of the four cases, two decisions favored investors while two cases were decided in favor of the Tennessee-based investment firm.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority oversaw the arbitration hearings but did not give reasons for the decisions.
It […]

According to a Consumer Affairs report, in 2004 one out of every 25 previously damaged vehicles had phony or dummy airbags. Hence a growing concern over airbag safety in used vehicles, and new warnings for motorists who might fall victim to unscrupulous auto repair shops that fail to replace used or damaged airbags. Only a […]