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SECURITIES FRAUD
Securities fraud refers to situations in which an individual,
securities firm or corporation deceives investors for
its own benefit. A recent slew of securities fraud cases
have gained national attention, in part because of the
large numbers of investors and shareholders who were
affected. Most of these cases can be considered either
shareholder fraud or investor fraud.
In shareholder fraud cases, a large corporation attempts
to maintain the loyalty of shareholders and analysts
by falsifying unattractive information -- i.e. concealing
debts, inflating profits, or moving questionable transactions
of the record books. Although the rouse can not be maintained
forever, in the short-term, the corporation benefits
because shareholders invest more money (or at least
don't pull out). The top executives in large corporations
are often the ones accused of committing shareholder
fraud or of orchestrating their company's misrepresentation.
Examples of companies that have recently been accused
of shareholder fraud include WorldCom and Enron.
Investor fraud cases are those in which brokers, analysts,
or brokerage firms dispense skewed information in order
to benefits themselves. For example, many securities
firms house both investment banking and brokerages.
This can lead to a conflict of interest if an analyst
gives one of the firms' investment banking clients an
artificially high rating simply because of their business
ties. The same can be said about a situation in which
a broker gives inappropriately unfavorable ratings to
the competitor of one his or her firm's investment banking
clients. This kind of bias can mislead investors, causing
them to lose money. Negligence, incompetence, or poor
research can contribute to skewed or inaccurate advice
as well. All of these situations may constitute fraud.
Solomon Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch, among others,
have recently been accused of investor fraud.
Mr. Braddock has been one of the leaders in prosecuting
against firms and corporations that commit securities
fraud. In fact, he was featured on the front page of
the The Wall Street Journal for his role in the WorldCom
case. His experience, tenacity, and determination can
help you recover your lost investment. If you have lost
money due to securities fraud, please contact us today!
About WorldCom
Worldcom built itself into a telecommunications corporation
that stretched across the South. But in June 2002, the
public found out that the company had for years been
hiding expenses – $13 billion worth, in fact.
These efforts to appease investors have cost the company
dearly: its value has plummeted, and a recent settlement
with the SEC seems to be only a forebearer of future
penalties.
On February 3, 2004, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit directed the District Court to extend the deadline for Class Members to request to be excluded (opt out) from the Class until at least 30 days after the Court of Appeals issues a mandate with respect to an appeal filed by certain individual action plaintiffs.
Please click here to download the Class Notice and Request for Exclusion from the Class. (This requires Adobe Acrobat, please click here to download for free)
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Some Mississippi Lawyers
Find WorldCom Is Tough to Crack
Talmadge Braddock, WSJ
September 17, 2002
Click here for article
50,000 MCI/WorldCom employees breathe a sigh of relief
Click to enlarge article
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