Enforcement actions

A Carlsbad, Calif.-based San Diego-based firm, Eric Hall & Associates, is accused of being unregistered when it served as municipal advisor to a school district.

The fallout from a 2017 federal fraud case is continuing to impact bond investors with the latest development involving the loss of tax-exempt status for bonds that were issued for two assisted living facilities in Georgia.

The now-defunct unregistered broker-dealer Core Performance Management, LLC, and four of its former employees settled fraud and MSRB rule violations with the SEC for engaging in municipal bond flipping and kickback scheme.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has already barred Jose Ramirez from the securities industry, his lawyer said.

Jose Ramírez has yet to acknowledge wrongdoing in misleading investors about Puerto Rico debt and may pose a continued threat to investors, SEC lawyers told a federal judge.

Early returns indicate there have been some problems but firms seem to be working through them in complying with the new markup rules, regulators and industry officials said Tuesday.

FINRA found that Gates Capital and three of its employees breached several MSRB rules, some related to role-switching from advisor to underwriter on the same transaction.

S&P Global Ratings lifted Moberly, Missouri, out of speculative grade with a four-notch upgrade.

Lombard Securities and McDonald Partners agreed to pay fines after FINRA examiners found various violations of MSRB rules, including supervisory failures and trade reporting deficiencies.

The SEC wants a quick end to its case against former Ramapo, N.Y. town supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence, but St. Lawrence's lawyer wants a federal judge to proceed to trial.