Bitcoin Sees Wall Street Warm to Trading Virtual Currency

Some of the biggest names on Wall Street are warming up to Bitcoin, a virtual currency that for nearly a decade has been consigned to the unregulated fringes of the financial world.

The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange has been working on an online trading platform that would allow large investors to buy and hold Bitcoin, according to emails and documents viewed by The New York Times and four people briefed on the effort who asked to remain anonymous because the plans were still confidential.

The news of the virtual exchange, which has not been reported before, came after Goldman Sachs went public with its intention to open a Bitcoin trading unit — most likely the first of its kind at a Wall Street bank.

The moves by Goldman and Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, mark a dramatic shift toward the mainstream for a digital token that has been known primarily for its underworld associations and status as a high-risk, speculative investment. read more »

CityMD ponies up $6.6M for submitting false claims to Medicare

Diagnosis: fraud. Prescription: a multi-million dollar fine.

CityMD, the popular chain of urgent care centers, agreed to pay $6.6 million for submitting false claims to Medicare, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said Friday.

The payment settles a civil fraud lawsuit brought by a whistleblower and Berman's office.

"CityMD improperly billed Medicare at significant cost to taxpayers," Berman said.  read more »

Hedge Fund Firm Charged for Asset Mismarking and Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the hedge fund advisory firm Visium Asset Management LP has agreed to settle charges related to asset mismarking and insider trading by its privately managed hedge funds and portfolio managers.  Separately, the firm’s CFO agreed to settle charges that he failed to respond appropriately to red flags that should have alerted him to the asset mismarking.

The SEC’s order finds that two portfolio managers of New York-based Visium falsely inflated the value of securities held by hedge funds it advised, causing the funds to falsely inflate returns, overstate their aggregate net asset value, and pay approximately $3.15 million in excess fees to Visium. read more »

“No one will be spared” – CFTC presents new evidence in binary options fraud case

The regulator provides new evidence uncovered during the litigation of “Millionaire Money Machine” fraudsters.

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has reacted harshly to an attempt by marketing affiliates of binary options fraudsters to have certain restrictions against them removed and the receivership imposed on their assets – dissolved. On Monday, May 7, 2018, the CFTC filed its objection to this motion with the Florida Middle District Court. read more »