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Silver Law Group (www.silverlaw.com), along with the law firm of Wites & Kapetan, P.A., has filed a nationwide class action lawsuit in federal court against Florida-based cryptocurrency exchange operator Cryptsy and its principal, Paul (“Big Vern”) Vernon.  Over the past several months, numerous Cryptsy account holders have been denied access to their accounts and have been deprived of any ability to properly protect their valuable assets amidst widespread reports of problems at the heart of Cryptsy’s business.  While reports have been swirling in multiple media outlets that Cryptsy’s future is greatly troubled and that the company might be under heavy regulatory scrutiny, many Cryptsy account holders have been unable to withdraw any and all forms of currency from their accounts.  Despite repeated inquiries to Cryptsy, users are being left without any meaningful response or information from Cryptsy and have had their withdrawal demands either denied or tabbed as “pending” for days, weeks, or even months.  Although the exact amount has yet to be calculated, it is believed the value of the digital funds being held captive at Cryptsy exceeds Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00).

The class action lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida under Case No. 9:16-cv-80060. As stated in the lawsuit, the class of victims pursuing relief includes “All Cryptsy account owners who deposited Bitcoins, alternative cryptocurrencies, or any other form of monies or currency at Cryptsy and have been denied access to their accounts and funds between November 1, 2015 and the present date.” The lawsuit asserts claims for negligence, unjust enrichment, conversion of funds and property, and violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

If you have invested in Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency and believe you are the victim of a fraud or a theft of your assets, you might have the grounds upon which to assert a claim to recover your losses. Additionally, if you have entrusted your cryptocurrency to Cryptsy or have traded through its web site and feel you have been misled, gather your metadata and contact Silver Law Group to find out what rights may be available to you.

The SEC alleges that Christopher Brogdon fraudulently raised $190 million from investors in 54 conduit municipal bond and private placement offerings, through entities associated with Brogdon. These entities potentially include the following offerings:

• Bleckley-Cochran Development Authority First Mortgage Healthcare Facility Revenue Bonds 2013ABC/Bleckley-Bryant
• Crisp-Dooly JT Development Authority First Mortgage Healthcare Facility Revenue Bonds 2013ABC/ Pine Hill

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Samuel DelPresto and his company with illicitly pocketing $13 million from an elaborate pump-and-dump scheme with the assistance of Donald Toomer, Jr.

The SEC alleges that DelPresto and others teamed up to secretly obtain control of substantially all available stock in four microcap companies and to facilitate coordinated trading that created the appearance of liquidity and market demand for the stocks.  After unwitting investors were enticed through promotional campaigns to buy the stock at inflated prices, DelPresto dumped his shares on the market.

“The series of fraudulent schemes alleged in our complaint enticed unwitting investors to pay inflated prices for four companies secretly controlled by DelPresto and others and then left the investors holding the bag when the manipulative activity ceased and the stock price dropped,” said Andrew M. Calamari, Regional Director of the SEC’s New York office regarding the SEC action.

On January 5, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released its 2016 Regulatory Examination Priorities letter highlighting three broad issues affecting investors and their rights: culture, conflicts of interest and ethics; supervision, risk management and controls; and liquidity. The letter also emphasizes sales practice, financial and operational controls, market integrity, and the significant role each of these plays in the way a securities firm conducts its business.

The overarching themes cited by FINRA are as follow:

Culture, Conflicts of Interest and Ethics – FINRA will formalize its assessment of firm culture to better understand how it impacts compliance and risk management and complete the review begun in 2015 regarding incentives and conflicts of interest in connection with firms’ retail brokerage business. FINRA will specifically assess five indicators of a firm’s culture:

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for December 2015, the following individuals were barred from FINRA and cannot currently work for a FINRA brokerage firm for failing to provide FINRA with information it requested or to keep information current with FINRA pursuant to FINRA rules:

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for December 2015, the following individuals were revoked from FINRA for failing to pay fines and/or costs pursuant to FINRA rules:

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for December 2015, the following individuals were suspended from FINRA and cannot currently work for a FINRA brokerage firm for failing to provide FINRA with information it requested or to keep information current with FINRA pursuant to FINRA rules:

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.

According to FINRA Disciplinary actions for November 2015, the following individuals were barred from FINRA and cannot currently work for a FINRA brokerage firm for failing to provide FINRA with information it requested or to keep information current with FINRA pursuant to FINRA rules:

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases. Scott Silver is admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represents investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.