Whistleblower case contends surgical device maker misled FDA — and patients paid the price

The company, one of the world’s largest medical device manufacturers, now faces a whistleblower lawsuit that claims it sought Food and Drug Administration approval for its devices under false pretenses — and that the devices have been regularly used for a purpose that was never intended by regulators. read more »

We now know who blew the whistle on Visium Asset Management

The whistleblower behind the investigation into Visium Asset Management, the onetime $8 billion hedge fund that isshuttering amid fraud charges, has been revealed.

A former trader at the firm, Jason Thorell, approached the government, according to aBloomberg News report out Monday morning. read more »

SEC: Investment Adviser Boasted Phony Assets and Track Record, Stole From Client

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against a San Francisco man and his investment advisory firm accused of pretending to manage millions of dollars in assets and then stealing money from the first client who invested with them based on their misrepresentations.

The SEC alleges that Nicholas M. Mitsakos and Matrix Capital Markets, which is a state-registered investment adviser in California, solicited investors in a purported hedge fund while falsely marketing themselves as experienced money managers with a highly successful track record.  They claimed assets under management in the millions when in fact they did not manage any client assets at all, and they fabricated a hypothetical portfolio of investments earning 20 to 66 percent annual returns and passed it off to investors as real trading.  When Mitsakos and Matrix Capital Markets were given $2 million in client assets to manage in September 2015, they proceeded to steal approximately $800,000 from that client and used most of it to pay for unauthorized personal and business expenses.  read more »

Federal Court in South Carolina Orders Robert S. Leben and Amy L. Leben to Pay over $10 Million in Restitution and Penalties in CFTC Anti-Fraud Enforcement Action

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Chief Judge Terry L. Wooten of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina entered a summary judgment Order against Defendants Robert S. Leben and Amy L. Leben of Columbia, South Carolina, in a CFTC enforcement action charging the Lebens with misappropriating pool participant funds and failing to register as commodity pool operators. In addition, the CFTC Complaint charged Robert Leben with issuing false statements and fraudulently soliciting pool participants by guaranteeing returns and the safety of each pool participant’s principal investment. The Complaint also charged Amy Leben with improperly accepting and commingling pool participant funds.  read more »

In CFTC Enforcement Action, Federal Court Orders Florida Resident Martin Sommers and His Company International Monetary Metals, Inc. to Pay over $9.8 Million for Engaging in Illegal, Off-Exchange Precious Metals Transactions and Registration Violations

 The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Judge William J. Zloch of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted the CFTC’s motion for entry of final default judgment against Defendants International Monetary Metals, Inc. (IMM), a Florida corporation, and its controlling person, Florida resident Martin Sommers. Judge Zloch’s Default Final Judgment (the Judgment) requires the Defendants jointly and severally to pay disgorgement totaling $2,469,783 and a civil monetary penalty totaling $7,409,349. The Judgment also imposes permanent trading, solicitation, and registration bans against the Defendants and prohibits them from violating provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), as charged. read more »