22 Firms Sanctioned for Improper Bond Offerings

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued enforcement actions against 22 municipal underwriting firms for violations in municipal bond offerings. Between 2010 and 2014 the 22 underwriting firms are accused of selling bonds containing false statements or omissions. In addition, firms allegedly failed to conduct the necessary due diligence to catch the misstatements.

This is the second round of cases brought against brokerage firms under the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative. 32 firms were penalized the first round (learn more here).

The MCDC is a voluntary self-reporting program that targets material misstatements and omissions in offering documents. The MCDC offers favorable settlement terms to underwriters who participate in the initiative.

Under the terms of the MCDC Initiative the firms will pay a penalty based on the number and size of the fraudulent offering identified up to $500,000.

The SEC’s orders and penalty amounts are:
Ameritas Investment Corp. – $200,000
BB&T Securities, LLC – $200,000
Comerica Securities, Inc. – $60,000
Commerce Bank Capital Markets Group – $40,000
Country Club Bank – $140,000
Crews & Associates, Inc. – $250,000
Duncan-Williams, Inc. – $250,000
Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. – $100,000
Estrada Hinojosa & Company, Inc. – $40,000
Fifth Third Securities, Inc. – $20,000
The Frazer Lanier Company, Incorporated – $100,000
J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC – $420,000
Joe Jolly & Co., Inc. – $100,000
Mesirow Financial, Inc. – $100,000
Northland Securities, Inc. – $220,000
NW Capital Markets Inc. – $100,000
PNC Capital Markets LLC – $500,000
Prager & Co., LLC – $100,000
Ross, Sinclaire & Associates, LLC – $220,000
UBS Financial Services, Inc. – $480,000
UMB Bank, N.A. Investment Banking Division – $420,000
U.S. Bank Municipal Securities Group, a Division of U.S. Bank National Association – $60,000

If you are concerned about municipal bond investments and would like to speak to a securities attorney about your potential to recover your investment losses, please call our Chicago office at 312-238-9650.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Vero Beach, Florida.

For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.