Regulators File Fraud Charges Against Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc., Morgan Asset Management and James C. Kelsoe, Action is Applauded by Napoli Bern Ripka LLP

NEW YORK, April 7, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), along with various state regulators, is pursuing claims against Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc., Morgan Asset Management, and James C. Kelsoe for fraudulent conduct in the offer and sale of securities. Napoli Bern Ripka of New York City applauds the decision. Attorneys from around the nation have applauded the regulator's actions. "We are handling over a hundred individual cases claiming the same issues the regulators are now starting to bring to light," said Adam J. Gana, Head of the Securities Arbitration and Litigation Department of Napoli Bern. "We applaud the regulator's decision to prosecute Morgan Keegan and will continue to represent our clients vigorously."

The news of the SEC filing was immediately followed by a Joint Notice of Intent to Revoke Registration and Impose Administrative Penalty against Morgan Asset Management, Inc. and Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. for violating provisions of the Alabama Securities Act, the Kentucky Securities Act, the Mississippi Securities Act, and the South Carolina Securities Act by the Alabama Securities Commission, the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office, and the South Carolina Office of the Attorney General.

The RMK Funds, which included RMK High Income Fund (formerly RMH, currently HIH), RMK Advantage Income Fund (formerly RMA, currently HAV), RMK Multi-Sector High Income Fund (formerly RHY, currently HMH), RMK Strategic Income Fund (formerly RSF, currently HSA), RMK Select High Income Fund (formerly MKHIX, currently HIFAX), and the RMK Select Intermediate Fund (formerly MKIBX, currently HSIBX), were marketed and recommended as providing investors with a consistent level of income. Investors, and now state Regulators, allege that true risks inherent in the Funds were fraudulently misrepresented and the pricing of the Funds' net asset value manipulated.

The State Regulators allege that Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. committed fraud by failing to disclose the risks inherent in RMK Funds, misclassifying the Funds' holdings, using an inappropriate peer group comparison, failing to disclose the Funds' true investment in illiquid structured debt securities, and after the collapse of the Funds, recommending that investors should hold and/or continue to buy the Funds.

If you, or anybody you know, has lost money as a result of investments in Morgan Keegan bond funds, Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP can help you. If you have any questions, you can reach us at: