What Is Securities Fraud?
Securities fraud, also referred to as investment fraud, is a type of serious white-collar crime that can be committed in a variety of forms but primarily involves misrepresenting information investors use to make decisions.
The perpetrator of the fraud can be an individual, such as a stockbroker. Or it can be an organization, such as a brokerage firm, corporation, or investment bank. Independent individuals might also commit this type of fraud through schemes such as insider trading.
- Securities fraud is a serious crime usually involving the investment world.
- Examples of securities fraud include Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, and late-day trading.
- Securities fraud can include false information or inside information.
Understanding Securities Fraud
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) describes securities fraud as criminal activity that can include high yield investment fraud, Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, advanced fee schemes, foreign currency fraud, broker embezzlement, hedge fund related fraud, and late-day trading. In many cases, the fraudster seeks to dupe investors through misrepresentation and to manipulate financial markets in some way.
This crime includes providing false information, withholding key information, offering bad advice, and offering or acting on inside information.
Types of Securities Fraud
Securities fraud takes on many forms. In fact, there is no shortage of methods used to trick investors with false information. High-yield investment fraud, for example, may come with guarantees of high rates of return while claiming there is little to no risk. The investments themselves may be in commodities, securities, real estate, and other categories. Advance fee schemes can follow a more subtle strategy, where the fraudster convinces their targets to advance them small amounts of money that are promised to result in greater returns.
Sometimes the money is requested to cover processing fees and taxes for the funds that allegedly await to be disbursed. Ponzi and pyramid schemes typically draw upon the funds furnished by new investors to pay the returns that were promised to prior investors caught up in the arrangement. Such schemes require the fraudsters to continuously recruit more and more victims to maintain the sham for as long as possible.
One of the newer types of securities fraud is Internet fraud. This type of scheme is also referred to as a "pump-and-dump" scheme, in which people use chat rooms and forums to spread false or fraudulent information concerning stocks. The intention is to force a price increase in those stocks—the pump, and then once the price reaches a certain level, they sell them off—the dump.
The FBI warns that security fraud is often noted by unsolicited offers and high-pressure sales tactics on the part of the fraudster, along with demands for personal information such as credit card information and Social Security numbers. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) investigate allegations of securities fraud. The crime can carry both criminal and civil penalties, resulting in imprisonment and fines.
Example of Securities Fraud
Some common types of securities fraud include manipulating stock prices, lying on SEC filings, and committing accounting fraud. Some famous examples of securities fraud are the Enron, Tyco, Adelphia, and WorldCom scandals.