SEC Sues Alleging Ponzi Scheme

Jay Eng is a Florida securities attorney at the law firm of Schwed McGinley & Kahle in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He represented individuals and entities as a securities lawyer in federal courts throughout the United States, the state courts of Florida, and in FINRA arbitration. He is author of the The Florida Securities Attorney law blog. Mr. Eng has been awarded a rating of AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell®. He was recognized as a Rising Star in the 2010 and 2011 editions of Florida Super Lawyers®. Rising Stars are the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state – those who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less – as selected by Florida Super Lawyers.

Securities litigation and arbitration cases are prosecuted and defended by securities attorneys and lawyers.

Arbitration - Securities attorneys represent customers in disputes which arise in the context of a stock broker/client relationship. In many circumstances, a customer will enter into an agreement to arbitrate any disputes that arise between him and his broker in connection with his brokerage account. Arbitration can differ drastically than litigation in state and federal courts for securities attorneys and lawyers. For example, there is no jury in FINRA arbitration; there are very limited rules of procedure and discovery; and there are very limited grounds to appeal a FINRA arbitration award.

Class Actions - In addition to individual lawsuits, securities class actions may be filed by a securities attorney on behalf of classes of shareholders who have similar interests and similar claims. Claims brought can include securities fraud or may be violations of securities statutes. Because of the significant expense in engaging in securities litigation against large, publicly-traded companies, class actions provide one means for recovery for shareholders with a small financial stake in the litigation.

If a settlement is achieved through the class's representative and their lead counsel, class members generally have three options: (1) participate in the settlement for their pro-rata share; (2) opt-out of the settlement (and pursue their claims in separate litigation with a separate attorney); (3) participate in the settlement, but object to certain parts of the settlement - such as the allocation of the settlement or object to the amount of attorney's fees sought by the securities class action attorneys

Derivative Actions - Derivative actions are filed by securities attorneys representing shareholders who bring such cases on behalf of the company against senior managers and officers. Generally, the claim is asserted when the shareholder believe that the senior managers are breaching their fiduciary duties to the company through malfeasance or are engaging in securities fraud. A securities lawyer may seek both injunctive relief (directing the end of the wrongful acts) and may seek compensatory damages to be paid by the rogue managers directly to the company.

State & Federal Lawsuits - In lawsuits, securities lawyers may allege violations of state or federal securities laws and may also allege common law claims including breaches of fiduciary duty or securities fraud depending on the factual scenarios. Retaining a securities attorney to initiate a securities lawsuit may be the only means for for a shareholder to recover asset or investment losses caused by corporate fraud or malfeasance. Such actions may be filed in state or federal court depending upon the type of claims asserted.