Securities fraud involves deceiving investors with false information in the commodities and stock markets. It can take many forms, from creating dummy corporations with similar names to selling shares to advance fee schemes and pump-and-dump schemes.
While anyone can be a victim of such crimes, people aged over fifty are the most prone to losing money either as direct buyers of securities or indirect buyers through their pension funds. The current securities fraud deterrence regime falls far short of what the theory suggests is optimal.
Current Events and Consumer Fear
Many consumers invest their money in securities–investments that carry potential loss but also provide a return. Unfortunately, fraudsters often target these investments and exploit a variety of vulnerabilities. They might trick investors into purchasing unregistered securities that promise a high return, like virtual settlements, pay telephone contracts, A.T.M. leasing contracts, or other “limited risk” opportunities. These con artists use high-pressure sales tactics to entice victims into investing their hard-earned cash, and, as a result, these scams can wipe out the entire life savings of some people.
Despite the best efforts of federal agencies, it is impossible to police every single instance of securities fraud. That’s why private rights of action need to exist so that investors can have a legal footing against corrupt brokers and businesses that manipulate the market for their profit.
Anyone undertaking a fraudulent act concerning a security or commodity transaction might face federal securities fraud charges. So, what is extreme securities fraud? These acts include Ponzi schemes, abusive short selling, cryptocurrency crimes, and lying to corporate auditors. The federal crime of securities fraud is prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. SS 1348, and it’s often charged alongside mail and wire fraud offenses.
A skilled white-collar criminal defense attorney can help protect you against the harsh penalties that come with a conviction for this type of charge. Depending on the circumstances surrounding your case, the attorney may need to gather and analyze evidence for months or even years before the case goes to trial. That’s why it is essential to have a lawyer who knows what to expect with these cases.
High-Yield Investments
The financial markets are rife with opportunities for fraud. Securities fraud involves manipulating investors’ buying or selling decisions to obtain unfair monetary gains and often violates several laws. It can take many forms, including false statements, omissions of information, or utilizing non-public, material insider information.
Anyone seeking higher returns must balance their investment objectives with their risk tolerance, and higher-yield investments often carry a greater level of credit or economic risk than lower-yielding investments. These risks can be magnified when investors are forced to sell off holdings to meet redemption requests or other obligations.
Financial instruments known as junk or high-yield bonds are issued by corporations whose credit ratings fall short of investment grade. These corporations are typically younger and capital-intensive, with high debt-to-equity ratios. Sometimes, a company’s financial condition deteriorates, and its bonds are downgraded to junk status, resulting in investor losses. Such companies are known as fallen angels.
The team’s fundamental, value-driven approach to investing in high-yield debt allows them to identify mispriced credit issues and potentially take advantage of pricing inefficiencies, such as a lack of understanding of or mispricing of the default risk of these issuers. This helps to manage the portfolio’s overall exposure to the economy and credit cycles. They also seek to diversify the portfolio by sector and industry.
Advance Fee Schemes
Securities fraud involves any deception within the commodities market that results in a financial loss for investors.
For example, advance fee schemes are a type of white-collar crime in which individuals or businesses must pay a fee upfront in exchange for stocks, services, or money they never receive. In some cases, the fraudsters also use social media to impersonate brokers or investment advisers and provide market information.
The fraudsters often instruct their victims to wire advance fees through escrow agents or lawyers to make the scam seem more legitimate. Then, they will send the funds abroad and stop communicating with their victim, claiming there are taxes or other fees to be paid to withdraw their fake profits. This fraud can devastate individuals and families, especially when the amounts are in the tens or millions of dollars. It can even destroy a person’s life savings.
Pump-and-Dump Schemes
Securities fraud is a crime against the federal government, with severe criminal penalties. However, it is unrealistic to expect the Commission to have the resources to police all securities frauds independently. Therefore, private rights of action must be granted to investors to complete and supplement the Commission’s efforts.
The heart of a pump-and-dump scheme is a fraudulent stockbroker urging customers to spend their money on stocks they claim are poised for dramatic rises in share price. These brokers typically target small companies that trade over the counter, commonly called “microcaps” or “penny stocks.” Fraudsters often coordinate rumors or misinformation to artificially inflate interest in these thinly traded securities, driving their price. Once the price reaches a critical point, the perpetrators dump their shares, causing the price to collapse and investors to lose their money.
Fraudsters can also impersonate legitimate brokers, investment advisers, and other sources of market information through social media. They can even create fake websites that mimic a real firm and use the email addresses, usernames, or handles of actual individuals at the firms to lure unsuspecting investors.
These fraudsters exploit the vulnerabilities of our securities markets and undermine the integrity of the capital marketplace, making it harder for Americans to access affordable capital and bolstering the profits of corrupt brokers and businesses defrauding their clients.