Mom, Sister-In-Law, Two Brothers, And Stock Proceeds

In celebration of this Sunday's Mother's Day, the BrokeAndBroker.com Blog presents a recent FINRA arbitration involving a maternal matter. Among the cast of characters are a mother, her two sons, and a sister-in-law; and, just to make things interesting, let's toss in the proceeds from the redemption of mom's stock.  Nothing like a chunk of change disputed among siblings to set off a round of internecine warfare. READ

Today's featured regulatory case comes to the BrokeAndBroker.com Blog from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The analysis is admittedly somewhat superficial because the issues are, at best, still in flux and our focus is less on the nuts-and-bolts of the underlying allegations than on the procedural posture of the matter. Pointedly, we got a pro se Respondent who is representing himself against the full brunt of the federal regulator. Likely licking its chops, the SEC's Division of Enforcement feels like it has a classic open-and-shut case in which the facts pretty much speak for themselves in what looks like an undisputed fashion. Given that air of certainty, Enforcement sought the dreaded Summary Disposition. Apparently, Enforcement's cockiness was not without some validity because the Administrative Law Judge granted the motion. At this point, even armed with high-priced regulatory counsel, many respondents are simply going down in flames on their appeal to the full commission -- and handling such an appeal on your own bereft of lawyers, well, what can I say?  Of course, as that sage securities regulator Forrest Gump so aptly noted: "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." READ