Category Archives: Dodd-Frank

Whistleblower Rejects $8.25 Million SEC Award

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On August 19, 2016, Eric Ben-Artzi, a former Deutsche Bank risk officer, stated he would not accept his portion of a $16.5 million whistleblower award from the SEC because the executives he contends were responsible for overvaluing certain portfolios at the bank were not being personally held accountable in the bank’s settlement with the SEC.  Ben-Artzi had provided information to the SEC, which led to a $55 million fine and settlement in 2015.

Ben-Artzi’s main criticism of the settlement and whistleblower award is that Deutsche Bank shareholders and rank-and-file employees bear the cost of paying such penalties.  He also accused the SEC of having too many connections to the bank through the “revolving door” between government and the industry.  Ben-Artzi noted that his ex-wife and attorneys may have claims on portions of the award.  He also stated that he would accept his portion if he was sure it came out of the pockets of the executives who he claims caused violations of the securities laws.

Here’s a Bloomberg article on the subject:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-19/deutsche-bank-whistle-blower-spurns-8-million-reward-from-sec

“Nothing Succeeds Like Success” Unless “Success” Is Based On Inflated AUM

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Having substantial assets under management (AUM) can really boost an investment adviser’s ability to attract new money. Accordingly, there is tremendous pressure to report strong numbers to the investing public, including through news sources (e.g., Barron’s top advisors list). As one adviser has found out, the price of inflating such AUM numbers can be millions in dollar in fines and a permanent bar from the industry.

Specifically, an SEC Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has found that Dawn Bennett and her firm falsely claimed between $1 – $2 billion in AUM when the most she ever had was $400 million. Ms. Bennett made such claims on a radio show she hosts and to Barron’s magazine in order to secure “top Barron’s advisor” recognitions for three years. In addition, Ms. Bennett provided performance information based upon “model portfolios” while representing that such returns were actual customer returns. Ms. Bennett and her firm also face FINRA customer arbitrations relating to the above issues as well as alleged account churning.

In its decision, the ALJ fined Ms. Bennett $600,000 and her firm $2.9 million. The ALJ also ordered $556,000 in disgorgement and imposed a permanent industry bar finding that Ms. Bennett “is not fit to remain in the industry in any capacity.”

Bottom line — while the temptation to inflate performance is very strong, especially in this competitive market, advisors who make false statements do so at their own peril.

Here is a link to the ALJ opinion — https://www.sec.gov/alj/aljdec/2016/id1033jeg.pdf