Wells Fargo Settles Fake-Accounts Lawsuit for $480 Million

Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $480 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in which investors accused the bank of securities fraud related to its fake-account scandal.

The settlement resolves the main class-action suit brought by shareholders targeting the bank’s allegedly deficient disclosures related to its sales practices. It had previously set aside reserves for the settlement, according to a regulatory filing Friday. Wells Fargo said in a statement that it denies the allegations in the suit. read more »

Malaysians poke fun at 1MDB scandal with 'Kleptopoly' board game

A Malaysian board game based on "Monopoly" is taking aim at the massive 1MDB scandal ahead of elections, featuring a motley crew of figures central to the controversy and items allegedly bought with looted money.

Designed by an anti-graft watchdog, "Kleptopoly" sees players move tokens round a board and pick up high-end real estate, with the richest - but least corrupt - participant declared the winner at the end.

The US Department of Justice alleges that US$4.5 billion (S$5.9 billion) was looted from 1MDB, which was founded by Prime Minister Najib Razak, by officials at the state fund and their associates in a campaign of fraud and money-laundering. read more »

Caught in the Theranos Wreckage: Betsy DeVos, Rupert Murdoch and Walmart’s Waltons

Even some of the world’s richest people may get duped, according to newly unsealed documents in a lawsuit filed on behalf of investors in the failing blood-testing company Theranos.

High-profile investors who collectively lost hundreds of millions of dollars included Walmart’s Walton family, the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, as well as Betsy DeVos, the secretary of education and her relatives.

The list of investors, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, came to light as part of a class-action lawsuit brought in 2016 by Robert Colman, a retired Silicon Valley investment banker, who claims that Theranos misled investors about its business and technology. read more »

U.S. Attorney charges Jackson man in $100 million Ponzi scheme

In a plea federal prosecutors indicated would later be changed to an admission of guilt, a 58-year-old Jackson man pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon in what could be Mississippi’s largest Ponzi scheme ever.

The U.S. Attorneys office in Jackson alleges Arthur Lamar Adams used fraudulently deeded timberland to bilk well over $100 million from hundreds of investors in Mississippi and elsewhere starting in 2011.

Prosecutors say Adams set up a SEC-registered company, Madison Timber Properties, to solicit money from investors. Adams told investors they’d get returns of 12 percent to 13 percent for financing contracts to buy timber rights to be sold to lumber mills at a higher price, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.

“However, neither Adams nor Madison Timber Properties had such timber rights or contracts with lumber mills, except in only a few instances,” U.S. Attorney Michael Hurst Jr. said in the press statement. read more »

Los Angeles files lawsuit against opioid companies

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced Thursday that his office has filed a federal lawsuit against nine opioid drug companies, alleging their illegal business practices have contributed to drug addiction problems in the city.

According to the California Department of Public Health, nearly 24 million Californians were prescribed opioids in 2016. On Thursday,  the city of Los Angeles took a big step forward in the fight against opioid addiction.

“This is a killer on our streets.” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. read more »

London Jury Learns Why Barclays Trader Got $634,000 Pay Package

The twelve jurors deciding the fate of Barclays Plc and Deutsche Bank AG traders accused of criminally rigging interest-rate benchmarks got a lesson Friday on why one of the men had an annual pay of more than $634,000 when he was hired in 2005. read more »

The Man Who Cracked the Lottery

When the Iowa Attorney General’s office began investigating an unclaimed lottery ticket worth millions, an incredible string of unlikely winners came to light - and a trail that pointed to an inside job. read more »