Category: Blog

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Duo Caught in Pump and Dump Scam Beware Boiler Room Tactics With Penny Stocks Sometimes the government gets the bad guys. This week a Manhattan jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts against two financial advisors who bilked over 100 people out of at least $15 million. Defendants ran a […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Nursing Homes: Silent Perpetrators of Elder Abuse Nursing Home Abuse Seniors are a group of very vulnerable individuals. As they age, they begin to lose the ability to care for themselves in ways that they used to, and sometimes the only answer is for them to enter into […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER IRS Whistleblower Program Growing By Leaps and Bounds IRS After Abusive Offshore Tax Avoidance Schemes 2016 marked the Tenth Anniversary of the Whistleblower Office at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Last week, the IRS reviewed that first decade in its Annual Report to Congress. The results are impressive. […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER FINRA Arbitration Shuts Down Broker Material Misrepresentations Oftentimes, individuals who invest their money also invest their trust. When they hand over their money, they assume that their broker or financial advisor is going to make decisions that will benefit the investor: personally, financially, and beyond. But what happens […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Sonoma County Whistleblower Awarded Damages Sonoma State University Whistleblower Recently, an employee of Sonoma State University made claims that he was harassed by members of the university’s staff for speaking up on a very serious issue: asbestos. When the whistleblower refused to stay quiet about the harm of […]

California Law Prohibits Cross-Selling of Reverse Mortgages and Annuities Beware of Pressure Tactics Seniors in Alameda and Marin County and throughout the State of California are often approached to take out reverse mortgages on their homes. Often, these individuals have substantial equity and significant appreciation in home value but reduced […]

Surrender Charges: The Unlikely and Often Unnoticed Aspect of Annuities Annuities Annuities are being sold in unbelievable numbers these days, as insurance companies and agents convince individuals it makes sense to put their money in some sort of insurance “investment.” Yet, annuities contain many severe disadvantages to the consumer, such […]

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Tips for Whistleblowers What the SEC Looks For The SEC needs your help in tracking down securities fraud. Whistleblowers bring useful information to the SEC that can lead to investigation and prosecution – and a possible reward for the whistleblower’s help. In January of this […]

California Audit Exposes Poor Background Checks Performed Before Hiring For Positions Related To Elder Care Background Checks The California Department of Social Services’ Community Care Licensing Division is a sub-department that oversees 75,000 facilities throughout the state. Their essential job is to keep elders, children, and disabled members of the […]

Problems with Variable Annuities Are Variable Annuities Right for You? Retirement planning discussions these days often touch on annuities. Whether it’s a salesman’s pitch or a co-worker’s tip, you’ve likely heard of variable annuities. For decades, variable annuities were the darling of those who peddled retirement plans. No portfolio was […]