BOCA RATON, Fla., April 8, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Securities Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes, P.A. ("K&T") (http://www.nasd-law.com) announced yesterday that the SEC and FINRA charged Morgan Keegan in connection with the Regions Morgan Keegan ("RMK") Bond Funds. Morgan Keegan is owned by Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE:RF). Since that time, K&T has received numerous inquiries from investors of the RMK Bond Funds who sustained substantial losses but have not yet taken legal action. With the regulatory filings, aggrieved investors of the RMK Bond Funds who have not yet sued may now feel that the time is right to attempt to recover their losses.
The SEC specifically alleged that Morgan Keegan perpetrated a "fraudulent scheme", and "failed to employ reasonable procedures to price the Funds' portfolio securities and, as a result of that failure, did not calculate accurate NAVs for the Funds." The SEC goes on to state that "despite these failures, Morgan Keegan recklessly published daily NAVs of the Funds which it could not know were accurate and, as distributor of the Funds' shares, sold shares to investors based on those NAVs."
According to FINRA, Morgan Keegan "market[ed] and [sold the RMK Bond Funds] to investors using false and misleading sales materials – costing investors well over $1 billion." FINRA's Complaint alleges that "the misleading sales materials, combined with the firm's misleading and deficient internal guidance and failure to train its brokers about the risks, led Morgan Keegan's brokers to make material misrepresentations to investors." FINRA further states that "Morgan Keegan failed to establish, maintain and enforce an adequate supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures, reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the federal securities laws and FINRA rules." Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and South Carolina also filed against Morgan Keegan and related entities a Joint Notice of Intent to Revoke Registration and Impose Administrative Penalty, relating to the sales of the RMK Bond Funds.
As more information regarding the misrepresentations made by Morgan Keegan concerning the RMK Bond Funds is revealed, K&T expects to see an increase in filings against Morgan Keegan. Presently, K&T is prosecuting numerous arbitration claims against Morgan Keegan on behalf of investors of the RMK Bond Funds before FINRA Dispute Resolution. Most recently, K&T filed a case against Morgan Keegan on behalf of an investor for losses sustained in the RMK Select High Income Bond Fund. (FINRA Case No. 10-00288). Retail and institutional investors who have sustained investment losses in the RMK Bond Funds can contact K&T to explore their legal rights and options.
The attorneys at K&T are dedicated to pursuing claims on behalf of investors who have suffered investment losses. K&T, an experienced, qualified and nationally recognized securities litigation law firm, practices exclusively in the field of securities arbitration and litigation. It continues its representation of investors throughout the world in securities arbitration and litigation matters against major Wall Street brokerage firms.
If you wish to discuss this announcement or have investment losses of $100,000 or more in the RMK Bond Funds, please contact Steven D. Toskes, Esquire, or Jahan K. Manasseh, Esquire of Klayman & Toskes, P.A., at 888-997-9956 or visit us on the web athttp://www.nasd-law.com.