Lately, I've been getting a number of inquiries from folks whose opening line is to assure me that they're "totally legit," which, of course, results in the activation of my early-warning system. Many of these callers proceed to assure me that they're not stockbrokers, not investment advisers, and not investment bankers. Okay, sure, that's fine but what the hell are you and why are you calling me? Eventually, they explain that they are bloggers or writers of financial newsletters. After the preliminaries end and the caller finally gets to the point, we often start strolling through a scary, dark forest of stock promotion schemes and reverse merger pump-and-dumps; and hiding behind every tree and under every rock are scheming trolls and hobgoblins. After we exhaust all the idiotic ideas about funneling fees to the wife or son-in-law and briefly touch on the fact that the caller was barred from the securities industry, more often than not, I never hear back from individual seeking my legal services. Sadly, I was so looking forward to the $100,000 retainer for criminal defense work. 

I admit that not all folks who seek to promote companies and their securities are crooks. There are some who are totally legit. The problem is that it's a dicey industry when it comes to following stocks and making recommendations. For those who fail to follow the rules, the prospect may be, at best, dancing with securities regulators, and, at worst, doing the perp walk with criminal prosecutors. As demonstrated in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission civil Complaint, Wall Street's cops are on the prowl and more than ready to charge those who seem to have gone astray. READ