On February 17, 2012 U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the filing of a complaint in federal court in North Carolina, charging defendant Mitchell Brian Huffman of Charlotte, N.C., with operating a fraudulent commodity pool scheme that defrauded participants of more than $3.2 million in connection with exchange-traded commodity futures contracts. Huffman has never been registered with the CFTC. From at least August 2006 to March 11, 2011, Huffman allegedly solicited prospective and actual pool participants, mainly family and friends, via in-person and direct telephone solicitations, to buy and sell exchange-traded commodity futures contracts on their behalf. During the period, Huffman allegedly fraudulently solicited and accepted approximately $3.2 million from at least 30 participants throughout the United States. In doing so, he also allegedly misled prospective and actual participants about the likelihood of profits and the substantial risks involved in such investments.

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On February 08, 2012 U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the filing of an enforcement action against Christopher B. Cornett of Buda, Texas, charging him with solicitation fraud, issuing false account statements, misappropriating pool participants’ funds, and failing to register in connection with an off-exchange foreign currency (forex) fraud. According to the CFTC complaint, filed on February 2, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, from at least June 2008 through at least October 2011, Cornett solicited prospective pool participants to provide funds for a pooled investment in forex. Cornett acted as the manager and operator of the pool, which was referred to at various times as ITLDU, ICM, International Forex Management, LLC and/or IFM, LLC.

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On February 02, 2012 U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the commission obtained a federal court order requiring Anthony Eugene Linton of Tucson, Ariz., doing business as The Private Trading Pool (PTP), to pay a total of $1,776,610 in restitution, disgorgement, and a civil monetary penalty for defrauding investors in a commodity pool Ponzi scheme involving off-exchange foreign currency trading (forex). The order, entered by US District Court Judge Frank R. Zapata of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona on January 30, 2012, stems from a CFTC complaint filed in January 2011, charging Linton with fraud and misappropriation in connection with the scheme (see CFTC Release 5970-11, January 24, 2011).

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On January 23, 2012 U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it filed and simultaneously settled charges against Timothy Michael Murphy of Redding, Conn., and his New York-based company, Centurion Global Capital Management LLC (CGCM), for fraudulently soliciting at least 40 customers to participate in a commodity pool. The CFTC’s order requires Murphy and CGCM jointly and severally to pay both a $140,000 civil monetary penalty and restitution of $220,000. The order also permanently prohibits CGCM and prohibits Murphy for a five-year period from trading on a CFTC-registered entity and from registering or seeking exemption from CFTC registration.

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As published in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) disciplinary actions report for July 2011, Wendy Rice Stern submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which she was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Stern consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that she charged personal expenses on her corporate credit card totaling approximately $5,200. The findings stated that Stern made approximately $2,700 in payments to the bank affiliate of her member firm for the personal expense which she charged on her corporate credit card.

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On July 01, 2011 New York State Insurance Department (NYSID) published that James W. O Connor failed to disclose on his original application for a life broker’s license that he was censured and fined by the National Association of Securities Dealers on two occasions, and that he was ordered by the Florida Division of Securities and Investor Protection to cease and desist from any and all future violations of certain Florida laws and rules.

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On Feb 04, 2011 Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) issued that commission allege that Ronald Theodore Cloutier (Cloutier), Venture Contractors Ltd. (Venture), Viva Communications Ltd. (Viva), Sunterra Resource Audit Equipment Ltd. (Sunterra Resource), and Sunterra Seismic Inc. (Sunterra Seismic) illegally traded and distributed securities in Alberta to Alberta investors, and have thus acted contrary to the public interest.

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On July 11, 2011 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that, at the request of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, California, returned an indictment against Alfred Louis “Bobby” Vassallo, Jr. on July 6, 2011 charging him with three felony counts of wire fraud. Vassallo, age 61, is a resident of La Jolla, California.

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On July 01, 2011 New York State Insurance Department (NYSID) issued that Aquiles Larrea (Respondent) delivered in the State of New York annuity contracts issued by an unauthorized insurer, and otherwise aided and facilitated said insurer in doing an insurance business in the State of New York.

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On July 01, 2011 New York State Insurance Department (NYSID) issued that Grant Allison’s (Respondent’s) non-resident agent’s license was permanently revoked by the State of Indiana Department of Insurance and Respondent failed to notify the Department within thirty days of the final disposition that matter.

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As published in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) disciplinary actions report for June 2011, a former registered representative Michael Hendry has been barred from the securities industry for engaging in insider trading and for failing to respond truthfully to questioning by investigators in FINRA’s Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence (OFDMI). Hendry was also fined nearly $70,000, which represents the unlawful profits he received from the transactions.

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On July 05, 2011 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, upon motion by the Commission, entered an amended final judgment against the defendants Carl E. Binette and Peter E. Talbot finding them jointly and severally liable for a $615,000 disgorgement, plus prejudgment interest of $76,235.28, for a total payment of $691,235.28, and ordering Binette and Talbot to each pay a $1,845,000 civil money penalty.

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On June 07, 2011 Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) published that following a disciplinary hearing held on December 7-18, 2009, January 25-February 10, 2010 and March 30-31, 2010, in Toronto, Ontario, a Hearing Panel of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) found that Kenneth Nott, Aidin Sadeghi, Christopher Kaplan, Robert Nemy and Jake Poultsrup (the “Individual Respondents”) entered artificial closing bids in contravention of UMIR 2.2(2)(b) and UMIR Policy 2.2.

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As published in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) disciplinary actions report for June 2011, Allan Marvin Levine of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was suspended for failure to Provide Information or Keep Information Current Pursuant to FINRA Rule 9552(d).

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On July 5, 2011 Financial Services Authority (FSA) published that the authority banned two insurance brokers, Andrew Porter and Alexander Brincat, from working in the financial services industry. It has also withdrawn the permissions of Brincat’s insurance firm; Wise Owl Services Limited (Wise Owl), Porter was the sole shareholder and the only broker at Porter Insurance which specialised in providing insurance policies for businesses and individuals.

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