If you are a Mcfee, Inc, investor, we have good news for you. The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced distribution of approximately $67 million to over 16,000 investors in connection with McAfee, Inc. financial fraud settlements.

The Fair Fund was created after McAfee (formerly Network Associates, Inc.), agreed to pay approximately $50 million in penalties and disgorgement to settle SEC charges in 2006 that it defrauded investors by overstating its revenues and earnings.

Investor questions regarding the distribution can be answered by calling 1-800-893-4359. Information regarding the distribution also can be obtained at McAfeeSECsettlement.com.

As an investor, do you fully understand the power and meaning of your proxy in corporate elections? The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking steps to educate investors on proxy voting and support greater investor participation in corporate elections.

The series of measures include amending the SEC’s e-proxy rules, issuing an Investor Alert, and creating new Internet resources that explain the proxy voting process in plain language.

The Securities Exchange Commission has created a new subsection on the SEC website Spotlight on Proxy Matters.

This new area on the SEC website provides investors educational information on such things as:
New Shareholder Voting Rules, Corporate Elections FAQ, Voting Procedures FAQ, "E-Proxy" or "Notice and Access" and Receiving Proxy Materials FAQ.

According to SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro:
"Investor participation in elections at companies they own is critical to effective corporate governance.”

Investors should be aware that last year, the SEC approved a change to the NYSE rule that previously allowed brokers the discretion to vote shares held in customer accounts in an uncontested election of directors without receiving voting instructions from those customers. The new SEC rule only allows brokers to vote those shares in elections at companies if they are instructed by their customers. However, the change does not apply to mutual funds or certain closed end funds.

We encourage investors to make use of the new educational site Proxy Matters and other helpful consumer information provided by the Securities Exchange Commission.

Boca Raton resident, Donald Platten, was sentenced to 262 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years’ of supervised release for securities fraud, mortgage fraud, and tax fraud, according to the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Restitution for the victims have not yet been determined by the Court.

Mr. Platten was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, six counts of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and impeding the internal revenue laws, in 2009. He was acquitted of eight additional counts of securities fraud.

According to the indictment and evidence introduced at trial, Platten was the president of Harvard Learning Centers Inc., a Florida corporation also located in Boca Raton. Harvard Learning changed its name several times and claimed to be involved in several different business ventures.

Click on the following link to read more on Donald Platten's conviction of Securities Fraud and Mortgage Fraud

The Boston-based State Street Bank and Trust Company was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with misleading its investors about their exposure to subprime investments while selectively disclosing more complete information to specific investors.

The State Street Bank agreed to pay over $300 million to settle the securities fraud charges. Investors that lost money during the subprime market meltdown in 2007, may be entitled to these funds. This payment is in addition to nearly $350 million that State Street previously agreed to pay to investors in State Street funds to settle private claims.

According to Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement,

"Investigating potential securities law violations arising out of the credit crisis remains a high priority for the SEC Enforcement Division."

State Street also was ordered to cease and desist from any further violations of certain securities laws. The SEC's enforcement action took into account the company's remediation and its cooperation, including:

* Replacement of key senior personnel and portfolio managers.
* Conducting a review of its procedures and revised its risk controls.
* Entering into private settlements with harmed investors.
* Recent agreement — pursuant to a limited privilege waiver — to provide information it was not otherwise obligated to provide to enable the SEC to assess the potential liability of individuals with respect to certain investor communications.

Click on the following lnk to read more on the State Street Investor settlement of $300 million

SEC order and settlement against State Street Bank and Trust Company

Last week, the Massachusetts Securities Division’s Enforcement Section filed a complaint against Securities America, Inc. (Securities America) claiming that the company omitted information and mislead investors. In the complaint, Massachusetts claims that Securities America violated a state securities act in connection with the sale of millions of dollars worth of Medical Notes to investors.

According to the state of Massachusetts, Securities America sold investors roughly $697 million worth of Medical Capital notes issued by Medical Capital Holdings, Inc. (Medical Capital). Securities America offered the notes to investors in a number of private placements, meaning the securities were considered too risky to be solicited or sold to the general public. The complaint alleges that Securities America did not properly disclose the material risks associated with the notes prior to selling them to investors.

In a statement concerning the issue, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Galvin, said:

“Our investigation showed that Securities America ignored their own due diligence analysts and sold these notes to unsophisticated investors without telling them the risks involved. People invested their life savings, while this dealer hid from them the truth of what they were getting into.”

In addition to allegedly misleading investors by Securities America, since August of 2008, Medical Capital has been in permanent receivership and has defaulted on every one of its outstanding note obligations. This means that approximately $1.079 billion of notes are in default, leaving millions of investors’ dollars – including the life savings of many – frozen. The civil complaint also seeks restitution for investors whose dollars are now illiquid.

From approximately 2003 to 2009, Medical Capital issued over $1.7 billion in Medical Capital notes. Acting as a placement agent between the notes and investors, Securities America handled the sale of roughly 37 percent of the total notes issued, or $697 million.
In connection with the sale of the notes in Massachusetts alone, Securities America received nearly $30 million in compensation. This does not include the untold millions of dollars worth of compensation received from countless more allegedly mislead investors in other states.

Although Massachusetts filed this complaint on behalf of investors within its state lines, this case of financial fraud affects investors throughout the United States. If you invested in Medical Capital notes using Securities America, please contact an attorney experienced in securities fraud immediately to discuss protecting your rights under the law.

Click on the following link to read the official complaint filed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Click on the following link to read the Boston Herald’s article, State seeks restitution for securities of America investors.