Whistleblower Awarded; Information First Reported to Another Agency
More Than $2.2 Million Awarded to SEC Whistleblower Who Initially Reported Information to Another Federal Agency On April 5, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a whistleblower award of more than $2.2 million to a former company insider whose... Read More →
$12 Million to Harmed Investors – Investment Advisers Settle Charges
Three Investment Advisers Settle Charges for Breaching Fiduciary Duties and Generating Millions in Improper Fees On April 6, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that three investment advisers have settled charges for breaching fiduciary duties to clients and generating... Read More →
Panera Bread Leaked Customer Data for Eight Months on Its Website
Data Leak Lasted At Least Eight Months – Panera Was Warned About the Problem Last August On April 3, 2018, Bankinfosecurity.com reported: Panera Bread acknowledged a data leak on Monday, but says fewer than 10,000 customers were affected. The leak... Read More →
“Thank you for calling American Express . . .” Alleged Unauthorized Calls
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on April 3, 2018, a class action complaint was filed against the American Express Company for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. According to the complaint, American Express “.... Read More →
Initial Coin Offering Scheme That Raised $32MM Stopped by SEC
Fraudulent Initial Coin Offering Raised More than $32 Million From Thousands of Investors Two co-founders of a purported financial services start-up were charged on April 2, 2018 by the Securities and Exchange Commission with orchestrating a fraudulent initial coin offering... Read More →
Important Things To Know About The SEC’s Whistleblower Program
SEC Whistleblower Awards & The SEC’s Whistleblower Program Since issuing its first award in 2012, the SEC has awarded approximately $1.2 billion to 256 individuals whose information and cooperation assisted the SEC in bringing successful enforcement actions. The Securities and... Read More →
Fintech Company Founder Charged with Scheme to Defraud Investors
Mozido Inc. Founder Charged with Scheme to Trick Hundreds of Investors to Invest in His Shell Companies On April 2, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has charged Michael Liberty (“Liberty”), the founder of the fintech startup... Read More →
Prominent Pastor, Financial Planner Charged by SEC
Pastor and Self-Described Financial Planner Charged in Scheme to Defraud Elderly Investors On March 30, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it charged the pastor of one of the largest Protestant churches in the country and a self-described... Read More →
Data Breach – Saks Fifth Ave., Saks OFF 5th, Lord & Taylor
Customer Payment Card Data Breach At Certain Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH, And Lord & Taylor Stores In North America Hudson’s Bay Company issued an announcement on April 1, 2018 that the company “. . . has become aware of a data security issue involving... Read More →
Under Armour Data Breach Impacts 150 Million MyFitnessPal App Users
Under Armour Data Breach Impacts 150 Million MyFitnessPal App Users On March 29, 2018, Under Armour issued an announcement that the company is notifying users about a data security incident which has affected approximately 150 million MyFitnessPal user accounts. MyFitnessPal... Read More →
Barclays Agrees to Resolve Fraud Claims and Pay $2 Billion in Penalties
Barclays Resolves Claims with DOJ for Fraud in the Sale of Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities On March 29, 2018, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a press release which reported that the United States has reached an agreement with... Read More →
Cross River Bank & Freedom Financial Asset Management
FDIC Announces Settlements with Cross River Bank and Freedom Financial Asset Management On March 28, 2018, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) announced settlements with Cross River Bank, Teaneck, New Jersey, and its institution-affiliated party, Freedom Financial Asset Management, LLC,... Read More →
Gold’s Gym Text Messages Lawsuit
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on March 26, 2018, a first amended class action complaint was filed against Gold’s Gym Of Aikens, South Carolina; Gold’s Gym Of North Augusta, South Carolina; Gold’s Gym Of Augusta, Georgia... Read More →
Gold’s Gym – Alleged Unsolicited Text Messages Class Action
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on March 22, 2018, a class action complaint was filed against a Texas-based Gold’s Gym to stop the gym’s practice of sending unsolicited text messages to telephones of consumers nationwide in... Read More →
Maxwell Technologies Charged with Prematurely Recognizing Revenue
SEC Charges Energy Storage Company and Former Sales Executive in Fraudulent Scheme to Inflate Financial Results On March 27, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it charged a California-based energy storage and power delivery product manufacturer, Maxwell Technologies,... Read More →
Recidivist Telemarketer Charged for Millions of Illegal Calls
Telemarketer Which Pitched Home Security Systems and Monitoring Services to Consumers Charged by FTC – Related Defendants Permanently Barred from Engaging in Abusive Telemarketing On March 23, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it filed a complaint and motion... Read More →
Deceptive Business Opportunity Scheme Stopped
Defendants Falsely Claimed People Would Learn Secrets for Making Money on Amazon On March 23, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has charged a business opportunity scheme with falsely claiming that people who buy the defendants’ expensive “Amazing Wealth... Read More →
Tip Top Capital Inc. – Alleged TCPA Violations
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on March 13, 2018, a class action complaint was filed against Tip Top Capital Inc., an entity “engaged in soliciting and providing business loans to consumers,” which, beginning in or around March... Read More →
Future Now Energy, LLC – Alleged Unauthorized Automated Calls
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on January 26, 2018, a class action complaint was filed against Future Now Energy, LLC for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. In... Read More →
A10 Networks Delays Filing Its Form 10-K; Class Action Filed
ATEN Class Action Lawsuit Seeks Compensable Damages for Purchasers of ATEN Common Stock Between February 9, 2016 and January 30, 2018, Both Dates Inclusive Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. continues its securities investigation on behalf of individuals who purchased, or otherwise... Read More →
Operators of Scheme to Defraud Retail Investors Out of Millions Charged
SEC Charges Operators of Private Real Estate Fund Involved in Long-Term Scheme Which Raised More than $66 Million From Approximately 300 Investors On March 22, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it settled charges against the operators of... Read More →
Abusive Debt Collectors Banned from Debt Collection Business
New York AG and FTC Settlements Ban Abusive Debt Collectors from Debt Collection Business and from Buying or Selling Debt On March 22, 2018, the FTC announced that the operators of a deceptive and abusive debt collection scheme have been... Read More →
Orbitz Data Breach (880,000 Payment Cards Affected)
Orbitz Says Names, Addresses, Dates of Birth, Payment Card Information Possibly Exposed On March 20, 2018, Engadget reported (“Orbitz data breach exposed 880,000 payment cards”) that Orbitz announced . . . that it has discovered evidence of a data breach, making it... Read More →
FTC Mailing Checks to Consumers (36,830 Checks Totaling $10,158,601)
On March 19, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it will begin mailing 36,830 checks totaling $10,158,601 to consumers who lost money to a technical support scam. Inbound Call Experts, LLC, doing business as Advanced Tech Support, along with... Read More →
Promoters of Deceptive Cryptocurrency Schemes Shut Down
Federal Court at Request of FTC Stops Activities of Individuals Who Allegedly Promoted Deceptive Cryptocurrency-Based Money-Making Schemes On March 16, 2018, the FTC announced that at its request, a federal court halted the activities of four individuals who allegedly promoted deceptive money-making... Read More →
Broker-Dealer Illegally Placed More Than $25 Million of Securities at Risk
Electronic Transaction Clearing Agrees to Settle Charges That it Illegally Placed More Than $25 million of Customer Securities at Risk to Fund Its Own Operations On March 19, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Los Angeles-based Electronic Transaction... Read More →
Over 117 Million Illegal Telemarketing Calls to Consumers
Utah-Based Operation Settles FTC Charges – Defendants Barred from Violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule & Calling Numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry The Federal Trade Commission announced that three Utah-based firms and their owner, which a federal court jury... Read More →
Investors of VelocityShares™ Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETNs (XIV)
Class Action Filed on Behalf of Purchasers of VelocityShares™ Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETNs (XIV) Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. continues its investigation of XIV securities and reports that another class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of purchasers of... Read More →
VelocityShares™ Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETNs (“XIV”) Alert
Class Action Filed on Behalf of Inverse VIX Short-Term ETNs Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. continues its investigation of Credit Suisse’s XIV security and reports that a federal securities class action was filed against Credit Suisse Group AG and certain company... Read More →
CEO Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh Balwani Charged with Fraud
SEC Charges Related to Massive Fraud – Holmes Stripped of Control of Theranos, Inc. for Defrauding Investors On March 14, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it charged Silicon Valley-based private company Theranos Inc., its founder and CEO... Read More →
Cboe Volatility Index® (VIX®) – VIX Futures & Options Contracts Traders
Have You Traded Volatility Index Futures OR Volatility Index Options Contracts on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (“CBOE”) or Cboe Futures Exchange Between January 1, 2011 – Present? Have You Held VIX Futures or VIX Options Contracts Through Settlement or... Read More →
Here’s What the SEC Says About Online Digital Trading Platforms
Investors Should Only Use an Online Digital Trading Platform or Entity Registered with the SEC Recently, the SEC published a public statement about online trading platforms where investors can buy and sell digital assets, including coins and tokens offered and... Read More →
1-800-Flowers Call Center Workers – Class and Collective Wages Lawsuit
Call Center Customer Service Representatives of 1-800-Flowers Allegedly Spend Time Each Shift Working Without Compensation On March 8, 2018, a class and collective action complaint was filed against 1-800-Flowers Team Services, Inc., 1-800-Flowers Service Support Center, Inc., and 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc.... Read More →
America’s JobLink Alliance Data Breach Investigation (10 States Affected)
Investigation of the America’s JobLink Alliance Data Breach Continues Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. continues its investigation of America’s JobLink Alliance (“AJLA or “AJL”), “a multi-state web-based system that links job seekers with employers,” which announced on March 22, 2017 that... Read More →
Applebee’s Payment Card Malware Attack (166 Applebee’s in 15 States)
Payment Card Data Theft Resulting from Malware Attack of Point-of Sale Systems Affects 166 Applebee’s Restaurants in 15 States On March 2, 2018, RMH Franchise Holdings (“RMH”) announced that it . . . recently learned about a data incident affecting... Read More →
Ace Industrial Supply Telemarketing Calls – TCPA Violations Alleged
Ace Industrial Supply’s Alleged Telemarketing Calls in Violation of the TCPA On March 8, 2018 a class action complaint was filed against Defendants Ace Industrial Supply, Inc. and others as of yet unknown (i.e., “Does 1-10”) in United States District... Read More →