Replies to post #14907 on Univec Inc (UNVC)

[stockmasterflash]

BrokerCheck Report
ROBERT M. COHEN & CO., INC.
Report #25117-25981, data current as of Saturday, July 05, 2014

www.finra.org/brokercheck
User Guidance
Initiated By:
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SECURITIES DEALERS.INC.
Principal Sanction(s)/Relief
Sought:
Other Sanction(s)/Relief
Sought:
Date Initiated:
01/10/2000
Docket/Case Number:
C3A990069
Principal Product Type:
Other
Other Product Type(s):
Allegations:
01/24/00GS: RESPONDENT MEMBER, ACTING THROUGH RESPONDENT
COHEN, VIOLATED SEC RULE 15C2-4 IN THAT INVESTOR FUNDS RECEIVED
IN CONNECTION WITH AN OFFERING OF SECURITIES MADE SUBJECT TO A
CONTINGENCY WERE FORWARDED TO A BANK ACCOUNT THAT DID NOT
MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE RULE.
Resolution Date:
01/10/2000
Resolution:
Other Sanctions Ordered:
Sanction Details:
FINED $1,000, JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY.
Regulator Statement
05-26-00, $1,000 PAID J&S ON 1/27/00, INVOICE #00-3A-32

*****

Reporting Source:
Firm
Allegations:
ON JANUARY 10,2000, ROBERT M. COHEN & CO.,INC.(THE "FIRM") AND
ROBERT M. COHEN ENTERED INTO A LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE, WAIVER
AND CONSENT WITH NASD REGULATION, INC.("NASDR"), IN WHICH THE
FIRM AND MR. COHEN ACCEPTED AND CONSENTED, WITHOUT ADMITTING
OR DENYING, TO THE ENTRY OF FINDINGS THAT THE FIRM, ACTING
THROUGH MR. COHEN, VIOLATED RULE 15C-4 UNDER THE SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, BY PLACING INVESTOR FUNDS FOR A
PRIVATE PLACEMENT, FOR WHICH THE FIRM WAS THE PLACEMENT
AGENT, IN A BANK ACCOUNT FOR WHICH AN ATTORNEY ACTED AS
TRUSTEE AND THAT SUCH ACCOUNT WAS NOT A PERMISSIBLE ACCOUNT
UNDER SUCH RULE. SINCE ALL INVESTOR FUNDS REACHED THEIR
INTENDED DESTINATION, NASDR STAFF RECOMMENDED A CENSURE AND
THE MINIMUM MONETARY SANCTION OF $1000.00 WHICH THE FIRM AND
MR. COHEN DECIDED TO ACCEPT.
Current Status:
Final
15
©2014 FINRA. All rights reserved. Report#

*****

Allegations:
ON OR ABOUT OCTOBER 18, 1995, ROBERT M. COHEN & CO., INC. (THE
"FIRM")AND JAMES J. MCKEEVER AND BRIAN HAYES, EMPLOYEES OF THE
FIRM (COLLECTIVELY, THE "RESPONDENTS"), ENTERED INTO A CONSENT
ORDER WITH THE VERMONT COMMISSIONER OF BANKING, INSURANCE
AND SECURITIES IN WHICH RESPONDENTS, WITHOUT ADMITTING OR
DENYING THE TRUTH OF THE ALLEGATIONS, CONSENTED TO THE ENTRY
OF FINDINGS THAT (I) THE FIRM AND MESSRS. HAYES AND MCKEEVER
VIOLATED SEC. 4213(A) OF THE VERMONT SECURITIES ACT (THE "VSA")
BY TRANSACTING BUSINESS IN VERMONT WITHOUT BEING REGISTERED
AS A BROKER-DEALER OR SALES REPRESENTATIVES, RESPECTIVELY, (II)
THE FIRM EMPLOYED PERSONS AS UNREGISTERED SALES
REPRESENTATIVES IN VIOLATION OF SEC. 4213(B) OF THE VSA, (III) MR.
HAYES EFFECTED TRANSACTIONS IN A MARGIN ACCOUNT IN VIOLATION
OF SEC. 4221A(A)(8) OF THE VSA AND THE RULES AND REGULATIONS
THEREUNDER, AND (IV) THE FIRM FAILED TO REASONABLY SUPERVISE
ITS EMPLOYEES IN CONNECTION WITH THE FOREGOING. THE FIRM
AGREED TO MAKE AN OFFER OF RESTITUTION AND TENDER
ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES AND COSTS OF $12,000. ME

*****

Reporting Source:
Regulator
Type of Event:
ARBITRATION
Arbitration Forum:
Case Initiated:
Case Number:
Allegations:
Disputed Product Type:
Sum of All Relief Requested:
Disposition:
Disposition Date:
Sum of All Relief Awarded:
NASD
09/28/1993
93-03475
ACCOUNT RELATED-NEGLIGENCE; FRAUDULENT
ACTIVITY-MISREPRESENTATION; FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY-UNSUITABILITY;
FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY-UNAUTHORIZED TRADING
COMMON STOCK; WARRANTS/RIGHTS
$75,000.00
AWARD AGAINST PARTY
08/27/1996
$32,900.00

******

Reporting Source:
Regulator
Type of Event:
ARBITRATION
Arbitration Forum:
Case Initiated:
Case Number:
Allegations:
Disputed Product Type:
Sum of All Relief Requested:
NASD
09/30/1994
94-03690
FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY-MISREPRESENTATION
COMMON STOCK; UNKNOWN TYPE OF SECURITIES
$75,150.00
19
©2014 FINRA. All rights reserved. Report# 25117-25981 about ROBERT M. COHEN & CO., INC. Data current as of Saturday, July 05, 2014.

[stockmasterflash]

NIR Group Adds Managing Director

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ROSLYN, N.Y., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- NIR Group ('NIR'), an alternative investment firm that manages a variety of strategies, today announced that Robert M. Cohen, 48, has joined the firm as Managing Director. Based in the firm's Roslyn headquarters, Mr. Cohen is responsible for overseeing operations and business development.

"Bobby has a proven track-record in managing and building a successful firm in the financial services sector," said Corey Ribotsky, Managing Member and Head Portfolio Manager. "We are confident that he will add significant value to us as we continue to build our operation."

For 15 years Mr. Cohen was Founder and President of Robert M. Cohen and Co. Inc., a full service brokerage firm specializing in investment banking, research and market making with offices in Great Neck, NY and Greenwich, CT. Most recently, Mr. Cohen was Managing Director of Hudson Securities, based in Jersey City, NJ. He graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Economics from SUNY Albany and holds series 62 & 63 licenses.

About NIR Group

NIR Group is an alternative investment firm that manages a variety of strategies including direct equity investments, commodities, structured finance, and real estate. The firm is headquartered in Roslyn, NY with offices in North Carolina and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.nirgroup.com

SOURCE NIR Group

[stockmasterflash]

Cohen certainly knows fraud

First with his own firm and then with Ribotsky??? ROTFL

SEC Charges Long Island-Based Hedge Fund Manager with Fraud Involving PIPE Transactions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2011-194

Washington, D.C., Sept. 28, 2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Long Island-based investment adviser with defrauding investors in hedge funds investing in PIPE transactions and misappropriating more than $1 million in client assets for his personal use.
Additional Materials

SEC Complaint: http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2011/comp-pr2011-194.pdf

The SEC alleges that Corey Ribotsky and his firm The NIR Group LLC repeatedly lied to investors to hide the truth that his PIPE investment and trading strategy was failing during the financial crisis. For example, Ribotsky falsely told investors that despite the adverse market conditions he could liquidate all of the PIPE investments in 36 to 48 months — a practical impossibility given the size of the investments. Meanwhile, Ribotsky misused investor money by writing checks to pay for personal services and such luxury items as a Lexus, Mercedes, and Rolex watch.

“In a classic betrayal of trust, Ribotsky stole from his investors and falsely assured them that his struggling hedge funds were thriving,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “This enforcement action reflects our continuing commitment to bring to justice individuals and companies that committed fraud during the credit crisis.”

A “PIPE” transaction involves “private investment in public equity.” Microcap public companies often engage in PIPE transactions to raise capital. According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal district court in Brooklyn, N.Y., NIR’s family of AJW Funds provided cash financing to distressed, emerging growth, and start-up microcap companies quoted on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board or the Pink Sheets. The AJW Funds were typically invested in 120 to 130 different companies at any given time.

The SEC alleges that beginning in July 2004, Ribotsky began siphoning assets from one of the AJW Funds he was managing through NIR. Ribotsky typically wrote checks to himself or to “cash” and then instructed NIR office employees to cash the checks at a nearby bank. They would then give Ribotsky the money. Although Ribotsky was warned by NIR’s head accountant that he could not lawfully take this money for himself, Ribotsky continued to do so anyway for the next five years.

According to the SEC’s complaint, NIR’s strategy of investing in distressed and start-up companies began to show signs of failure by mid-to-late 2007. Many of the distressed companies to which the AJW Funds had made loans were by then essentially defunct or on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. The SEC alleges that Ribotsky made false and misleading statements to investors while his hedge funds were struggling to create the illusion of success. For instance, an NIR employee — who also is charged in the SEC’s complaint — prepared an investor chart accurately showing that NIR had invested a total of $31.4 million in 57 deals for the relevant period. When Ribotsky reviewed the chart, he told the employee that “investors can’t see this” and instructed him to “change the number to something near $60 million” before sending it to investors so they would falsely see an average investment of at least $1 million per deal. Ribotsky continued to make false and misleading statements to investors even after the AJW Funds’ outside auditor had calculated that it would take decades — if possible at all — to liquidate all of the AJW Funds’ PIPE investments under NIR’s stated investment and trading strategy.

The SEC further alleges that Ribotsky used money from one group of investors to pay another group of investors in 2007 without adequately disclosing this to any of the investors. Ribotsky’s misconduct also included his failure to conduct any meaningful due diligence before selling a third party $43.2 million of AJW Funds assets in November and December 2008 — a transaction that allowed Ribotsky to book a purported “realized” gain at a critical time without his funds actually receiving any money. NIR’s offering materials and investor communications touted that NIR engages in extensive due diligence reviews before making investment decisions on behalf of the AJW Funds. The third-party purchaser soon defaulted on his payment obligations and has never paid for any of the assets.

The SEC’s complaint charges Ribotsky and NIR with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1), 206(2) and 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder. The complaint seeks a final judgment permanently enjoining Ribotsky and NIR from future violations of the above provisions of the federal securities laws and ordering them to disgorge any ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest and pay monetary penalties.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Joseph Dever, Kenneth Byrne and Christopher Mele of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. Howard A. Fischer will lead the SEC’s litigation efforts.

# # #

For more information about this enforcement action, contact:

George S. Canellos
Director, SEC’s New York Regional Office
(212) 3360-1020

David Rosenfeld
Associate Director, SEC’s New York Regional Office
[phone]

Joseph Dever
Assistant Director, SEC’s New York Regional Office
[phone]

Howard Fischer
Senior Trial Counsel, SEC’s New York Regional Office
[phone]



http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-194.htm

[Goteleft]

I like this part of the PR,
Univec, Inc. A minority business enterprise (MBE) is a Specialty Pharmaceutical Company that manufactures and distributes transdermal patches and high cost Specialty Pharmaceuticals. Recent NDC approvals by the FDA provides a niche market for smoking cessation, nicotine replacement products and pain management along with behavioral health pharmaceuticals.

[JohnnyBlaze]

anyone talked to any company reps?