Securities Fraud Attorney Blog

Citi Hit With $54 Million MAT Award

April 12, 2011 | By Ross B. Intelisano

Sophisticated investors won a $54 million arbitration award against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. related to the MAT leveraged municipal arbitrage hedge fund. It is by far the largest FINRA award rendered against Citi related to MAT. The award in the matter named Hosier v. Citi also includes $17 million in punitive damages and $3 million in attorneys’ fees.

We have been retained by many MAT investors and have numerous pending arbitrations against Citi related to MAT and it’s sister fund Falcon. This award is a potential game changer.

It’ll be interesting to see if Citi attempts to move to vacate the award in court, especially due to the punitive damages amount. It is very difficult to vacate an arbitration award, however firms have been more aggressive in challenging arbitration awards in recent years. Either way, this is one of the largest arbitration awards ever rendered against a broker dealer at FINRA and a tremendous sign for MAT/Falcon investors with outstanding claims.

FINRA Fines UBS for Principal Protected Notes

April 11, 2011 | By Ross B. Intelisano

FINRA fined UBS Financial Services, Inc. $2.5 million, and required it to pay $8.25 million in restitution for omissions and misleading statements made regarding the “principal protection” feature of Lehman Brothers100% Principal-Protection Notes (PPNs).

Our firm is presently representing investors of the Lehman PPNs against UBS in arbitrations at FINRA. It’s good to see FINRA stepping up and fining UBS in this matter. It’ll be a battle in the many pending arbitrations against UBS for investors to enter the fine into evidence as an indication of wrongdoing by UBS.

According the FINRA press release, UBS had described the structured notes as principal-protected investments and failed to emphasize they were unsecured obligations of Lehman Brothers, which eventually filed for bankruptcy in September 2008.

Largest MAT Award Rendered Against Citi

February 10, 2011 | By Ross B. Intelisano

A Florida FINRA panel awarded $6.4 million to an investor in Citi’s MAT municipal bond arbitrage fund this week. It’s the largest award rendered against Citi related to its MAT and Falcon proprietary fund blow-ups. The case is Berghorse v. Smith Barney (FINRA 08-04466). Although damages claimed on the award were $12 million, sources say the net out of pocket losses were under $10 million, making the award amount over 64% of the losses. The 29 hearing sessions also make it the longest MAT arbitration to date. This substantial award follows a string of 100% NOP awards rendered against Smith Barney late last year. Below is an On Wall Street piece about the case.

FINRA: Citi To Pay Investors $6.4M By Lorie Konish February 9, 2011

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel has ordered two parts of Citigroup Inc. to pay $6.4 million to make up for investment losses tied to a group of troubled municipal arbitrage trust funds.

Rich & Intelisano Wins Punitive Damages Award

February 7, 2011 | By Ross B. Intelisano

Rich & Intelisano recently won a FINRA arbitration award which included $100,000 in punitive damages. The case is Stora, et al. v. Strasbourger, Pearson et al. (FINRA 09-01769). We represented a group of investors who were defrauded by a broker dealer and its registered representatives. Matthew Woodruff of our office tried the matter which included five hearing sessions. The panel awarded the claimants $373,968 in compensatory damages, plus interest. The award is significant because pursuant to the Mastrobuono Supreme Court decision, the panel awarded claimants $100,000 in punitive damages, a rarity in securities arbitrations.

CNBC Guest Blog: Madoff Two Years Later – It’ll Never Be the Same

December 10, 2010 | By Ross B. Intelisano

Below is a CNBC guest blog by Ross Intelisano on the two year anniversary of Madoff’s arrest.

Madoff Two Years Later – It’ll Never Be the Same by Ross B. Intelisano – Rich & Intelisano, LLP

December 11, 2008 started like a typical year-end work day. Then the phone rang with a hysterical retired widow screaming and crying that she had just lost almost all of her money investing with Bernie Madoff. That might seem strange to many, but we receive calls like this all of the time. Our law firm represents investors who’ve been defrauded by Wall Street. But the phone kept ringing, all day, every day, from December through February. And the numbers were staggering; tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars lost. Generations of wealth were completely wiped out. We knew immediately. This was going to be the largest fraud ever, and by a long shot. And it was. $18 billion. Almost ten times larger than any other Ponzi scheme.

NY Times: Goldman’s $20 Million Consequence

December 3, 2010 | By Ross B. Intelisano

Below is a New York Times piece about the Firm’s $20.6 million arbitration award against Goldman Sachs being upheld by Judge Rakoff in a sternly written opinion.

DealBook – A Financial News Service of The New York Times November 30, 2010, 6:16 pm Goldman’s $20 Million Consequence By SUSANNE CRAIG

Goldman Sachs made its bed. Now Judge Jed S. Rakoff says the Wall Street firm has got to lie in it.

AP: Probe leads investors to wonder: Is game rigged?

November 26, 2010 | By Ross B. Intelisano

Below is an AP article regarding insider trading which quotes Ross Intelisano.

Probe leads investors to wonder: Is game rigged?

By RACHEL BECK, BERNARD CONDON and PALLAVI GOGOI, AP Business Writers Rachel Beck, Bernard Condon And Pallavi Gogoi, Ap Business Writers Wed Nov 24, 4:13 pm ET

The American Lawyer: Judge Rakoff Confirms $20.6 Million Arbitration Award Against Goldman Sachs

November 9, 2010 | By Ross B. Intelisano

Below is a piece by the American Lawyer. Top Story of the day.

TOP STORY November 9, 2010

The Am Law Litigation Daily – Did Goldman Make Bad Gamble With Arbitration Award?

Reuters: Goldman loses bid to toss record Bayou award

November 9, 2010 | By Ross B. Intelisano

Here is a piece from Reuters on the Firm’s recent win against Goldman Sachs.

Goldman loses bid to toss record Bayou award 3:46am EST

By Jonathan Stempel

NY Times: Judge Upholds Award Against Goldman

November 8, 2010 | By Ross B. Intelisano

Below is a piece from the NY Times’ DealBook about Judge Rakoff confirming the $20.6 million arbitration award against Goldman Sachs, the largest arbitration award ever rendered against the firm.

DealBook – A Financial News Service of The New York Times November 8, 2010, 11:29 am Judge Upholds Award Against Goldman

A federal judge has denied a request by Goldman Sachs to throw out a record arbitration award levied against the Wall Street firm earlier this year.