BrokeAndBroker.com Blog by Bill Singer WEEK IN REVIEW

February 20, 2016


The BrokeAndBroker.com Blog has obtained a copy of the:

GOVERNMENT'S MOTION TO COMPEL APPLE INC. TO COMPLY WITH THIS COURT'S FEBRUARY 16, 2016 ORDER COMPELLING ASSISTANCE IN SEARCH / IN THE MATTER OF THE SEARCH OF AN APPLE IPHONE SEIZED DURING THE EXECUTION OF A SEARCH WARRANT ON A BLACK LEXUS IS300, CALIFORNIA LICENSE PLATE 35KGD203 (Central District of California, February 19, 2016).  READ the FULL-TEXT Motion to Compel


The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission announce their resolutions of cases against Charles J. Moore, former Chief Executive Officer and sole principal of Angelic Holdings LLC and its registered broker-dealer affiliate Crucible Capital Group, Inc., Moore had been charged with obstructing an SEC examination,making false statements to SEC examination Staff, and falsifying and failing to keep required books and records of a broker-dealer. A dramatic outcome. READ


You got Oral Roberts University. You have Oral Hygiene. You got Oral Arguments before a judge. You got Orel Hershiser, the former major league pitcher. You even got that whole Oral thing involving former President Clinton. On Wall Street, however, you got Oral Discretion, which, as you will soon discover, isn't worth the paper it's not written on. READ

SEC Settlement Shows Shameful State Of Wall Street Research

After a while, it all just gets tiring -- enervating. Cut by cut. Inch by inch. Whatever alleged honesty and integrity was once believed to have existed on Wall Street is lessened. Frankly, long ago it got to the point where many investors concluded that the exchanges and markets were simply rigged casinos. Along with that ongoing erosion of investor confidence in the trading venues, we also had doubts about the honesty of the securities industry's research. Talkin' their book. Bought and sold puffery. For much of the last twenty or so years, the headlines were filled with allegations, charges, and convictions about insider trading and compromised research. Sadly, it seems that it's still not safe to go back into the muddied waters of Wall Street. READ

SEC Settlement Gives Respondent 168 Years To Pay

We are regularly bombarded with press releases heralding some purportedly profound and historic settlement or verdict.  Inevitably, as we read through the breathless prose announcing the legal outcome, we are told that some company or individual will pay a significant disgorgement and/or a crippling fine; but the cynics among us (of which I am one) arch an eyebrow at the announced dollars because we know that such sums are not always paid in full, if at all.  Consequently, what looks like a financial burden upon a purported crook may well be nothing more than an non-collectable debt or, at worse, an obligation that is laughed at by the defendant/respondent. Consider a recent SEC settlement and the proposed Initial Decision.