Articles Posted in Hedge Fund Fraud

Annuities are insurance contracts that make routine payments to customers either immediately or at some point in the future.  This insurance contract allows investors to protect and grow their retirement savings while providing them with guaranteed income.  Some brokers and financial advisors recommend selling or exchanging annuities for “better” investment opportunities.  However, liquidating or exchanging an annuity comes with a high price– commissions, tax implications, and the loss of benefits associated with the original annuity.  For these reasons, liquidating or exchanging an annuity without very clear financial reasons may be  unsuitable for customers.  The securities fraud lawyers at Rich, Intelisano & Katz, LLP (RIK) have recovered millions for investors who suffered from annuity-related losses.

When investors sell or exchange their annuities, it comes with a heavy price.  First, when customers sell their annuity, they are subjected to costly fees and penalties.  For example, the customer may incur surrender charges and high cancellation fees.  Second, customers will lose all benefits associated with the annuity, such as legacy protection which is a death benefit to help provide a legacy for your loved ones.  Third, the customer forfeits expected benefits from the annuity– the customer will no longer have guaranteed income.  Fourth, taxes may become immediately due on the proceeds.  Lastly, there are often high commissions associated with the sale of annuities.

Regardless of the costs and losses associated with selling or exchanging annuities, brokers and financial advisors sometimes recommend such actions to customers in order to generate commissions for themselves.  Essentially, liquidating or exchanging annuities could potentially be a scheme for your broker or advisor to take money out of your savings and put it into their pocket.  What’s worse is that the broker or advisor will use your money from the sale of the annuity to purchase another annuity or other investment products further increasing commissions and fees.  Just like with any scheme to take advantage of customers, this is ill-suited and exceedingly improper.

Below is a piece by Bloomberg on our firm’s $383 million claim against Citigroup. There’s more on this case on the firm’s website at https://www.riklawfirm.com/

Citigroup’s Mathur Said to Depart With Hybrid Traders as Pandit Cuts Jobs By Donal Griffin – Dec 9, 2011

Citigroup Inc. (C), the third-biggest U.S. bank, is shrinking a team of traders who deal in “hybrid” products as Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit cuts Wall Street jobs, two people familiar with the matter said.

Below is an American Lawyer piece which explains our clients’ pending $383 million FINRA arbitration against Citigroup. It goes on to talk about how there are more and more large and complex cases at FINRA. It’s true. As partner John Rich points out at the end of the article, our firm is involved in other multi-million dollar matters at FINRA. In fact, we handled the Bayou v. Goldman FINRA arbitration case which generated a $20.6 million award, and is mentioned in the article. We think FINRA arbitration will continue to attract sophisticated legal disputes because it is more efficient and timely than court litigation.

Too Big for Their Britches?

Nate Raymond

Below is Bloomberg piece about our client’s $383 million FINRA arbitration claim against Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. related to hedge funds, private equity, and derivatives.

Bloomberg

Citigroup Saudi Deal Haunts Pandit By Donal Griffin – Nov 30, 2011

Below is a Bloomberg article about our firm’s $20.6 million FINRA arbitration award against Goldman Sachs related to Bayou. It’s the largest arbitration award ever rendered against Goldman. The award was confirmed by Judge Rakoff and Goldman filed it’s brief to the Second Circuit.

Goldman Sachs Asks Court to Throw Out $20.5 Million Bayou Creditors’ Award By Bob Van Voris – Oct 15, 2011

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) filed an appeal seeking to dismiss a $20.5 million arbitration award to creditors of the failed hedge fund firm Bayou Group LLC.

Below is a WSJ article about our firm’s $20.6 million FINRA arbitration award against Goldman Sachs related to the Bayou hedge fund fraud. It is the largest arbitration award ever rendered against Goldman. The award was confirmed by Judge Rakoff of the SDNY in November 2010 and Goldman filed it’s brief to the Second Circuit this week.

Goldman Continues to Fight $20.5 Million Award in Pivotal Case By LIZ MOYER

NEW YORK-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is continuing to fight a $20.5 million arbitration award that, while relatively small from the big bank’s perspective, has broader implications for Wall Street.

Below is an On Wall Street piece about our firm’s representation of a Saudi investor in a $383 million FINRA arbitration against Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

Citigroup Aims to Stop Arbitration From Proceeding By Lorie Konish, On Wall Street October 7, 2011

A new lawsuit filed by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. this week against a set of Saudi family investors with a $383 million claim against the firm will determine whether that case can proceed to arbitration.

Below is a story about CGMI’s attempt to stay a $383 million FINRA arbitration filed by our firm related to inappropriate behavior with respect to derivatives, hedge funds, and private equity transactions.

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — A Citigroup Inc. unit sued two Saudi investors seeking to block Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration of their $383 million claim that the bank “wiped out” their family’s wealth.

Abdullah and Ghazi Abbar, a father and son from Jeddah who put family money into hedge funds, have no customer agreements or accounts with Citigroup Global Markets Inc., a New York-based broker dealer that they blame for mismanaging their family’s life savings, according to a complaint the Citigroup unit filed yesterday in federal court in Manhattan.

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.

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.

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