Founder of west coast direct lender charged with fraud
Brendan Ross, founder and former chief executive officer of Direct Lending Investments, was arrested and charged with 10 counts of wire fraud yesterday, amid allegations he inflated the value and returns for a fund investment, resulting in mis-statements to investors and around $5-6million in overcharged fees

Acis CLO fights back against risk retention financier
A 2014 US CLO which was part of the acrimonious split between asset managers Acis Capital Management and Highland Capital Management has become the centre of a dispute stemming from a risk retention financing agreement signed in 2018

Fund manager accused of using fake CLO to run multi-million Ponzi scheme
The co-founder of an investment management company who has been charged with fraud by the securities and exchange commission for setting up a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme is alleged to have raised a CLO trust backed by fraudulent trade finance loans

Highland directors intervene to get CLO mismanagement lawsuit dropped
Details have emerged about the nature of the ‘CLO mismanagement’ lawsuit filed on behalf of a charitable fund, seeded by Highland Capital Management, after it was dropped by plaintiffs

Charitable daf "seeded by Highland" files lawsuit alleging CLO mismanagement
A charitable organisation has filed a lawsuit against several parties managing and monitoring a pair 2.0 CLOs in which it has exposure to the equity tranche

Highland Capital Management LP working to remove founder Dondero
Highland Capital Management LP is working with the unsecured creditors committee on a new management team while the US trustee demands an independent trustee to oversee the bankruptcy

CLO issuance faces threat amid loan definition dispute
The clash over Millennium Laboratories’ bankruptcy could have ramifications for the CLO market, and it all hinges on the philosophical question: what is a loan?

Highland Crusader Fund dispute re-ignites in Delaware court
Highland Capital Management is weighing the financial impact of its ongoing litigation over crisis-era fund redemptions with the Redeemer Committee of the Highland Crusader Fund

Medley BDC loses compliance with NYSE as two directors depart
The Medley marathon continues after two "independent" directors offered their resignations. The pair were named in a lawsuit last month with activist shareholders FrontFour 

Barings and Napier Park fight over Duchess VI incentive fee
Napier Park European Credit Opportunities Fund and Barings (UK) faced off in court this week over the payability of an incentive collateral management fee (ICMF) after the 2006-vintage Duchess VI CLO was called by the equity in 2018. Duchess VI CLO. After a two-day hearing, the judge, Lord Justice Vos, reserved his judgment

Highland slams court's approval of CLO manager's restructuring plan
Highland Capital Management has spoken out against a US bankruptcy court’s confirmation of Acis Capital Management’s restructuring plan, saying it expects the decision to be overturned

Debtwire: Acis CLO judge finds all three plan options unconfirmable and sides with Highland's objections
Acis Capital Management’s judge last week issued a ruling denying all three versions of Acis’s proposed reorganisation plan, which was highly contested by creditor Highland Capital Management and subordinated noteholder Highland CLO Funding

Debtwire: Highland slams chapter 11 trustee over Acis CLOs as Brigade and Oaktree wait in the wings
Highland Capital Management is preparing for battle this month over the fate of Acis Capital Management, a CLO manager affiliate placed into bankruptcy by its former partner Josh Terry. Three options are on the table, with Oaktree, Brigade and Terry potentially taking prominent roles

Court order forces former Sound Point CLO PM into 90-day non-compete
Sound Point Capital Management is locked in a dispute with its former employee Murtaza Haque who left the firm in May with a view to joining GoldenTree Asset Management    

Credit hedge fund to pay $10 million to settle insider trading case
New York-based Visium Asset Management is to pay approximately $10 million to settle a credit fund insider trading case, 8 May US regulatory filings reveal

Tilton and MBIA reach bankruptcy agreement for Zohar CLOs
The dispute between Lynn Tilton, the Zohar CLOs and creditors, including MBIA, came a step closer to resolution yesterday with the parties reaching an agreement over the bankruptcy of the Zohar CLOs

Acis CLOs in play as court verdict paves the way towards bankruptcy
Acis Capital Management has moved closer to bankruptcy after a US court found that orders for relief are required

Zais hit with class action filing over proposed go-private deal
A Zais Group stockholder has filed a putative class action lawsuit against the firm, taking aim at Zais’s plans to merge with subsidiary ZGH Merger Sub and Zugel’s firm Z Acquisition – a plan that would result in the company going private

Deadline passes for federal agencies to appeal risk retention ruling
CLOs passed another milestone on the journey away from risk retention as the SEC and Federal Reserve Board did not appeal the court decision by the 45-day deadline

Fund industry braces for further impact after court's DOL fiduciary rule decision
The US Department of Labor (DOL) had said it will not enforce its embattled ‘fiduciary rule’ following a legal ruling last week – but one regulatory lawyer says fund industry players should nevertheless brace for several impacts of that ruling

Lynn Tilton files for voluntary bankruptcy for Zohar CLOs
The drawn-out legal battle involving Zohar CLOs has taken a new turn, with the Zohar funds on Monday filing voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code

SEC and Ameriprise settle lawsuit over high mutual fund fees
The regulatory lawsuit took aim at Ameriprise for allegedly making customers pay $1.78 million in unnecessary charges

TCW hits back at sexual harassment claims involving 'terry bathrobe-wearing' MD
TCW has been accused of unfairly dismissing a managing director in retaliation after she reported sexual harassment – but the firm has denied the allegations, on Tuesday saying she was fired for unspecified “compliance violations”

Former Acis partner Josh Terry suggests the firm is bankrupt
The long-running legal battle between Acis Capital Management and former partner Josh Terry continues, with Terry now suggesting Acis is bankrupt and filing as a creditor with a Texas court

Reprieved: US CLO managers are not subject to risk retention, court rules
The LSTA has prevailed in its lawsuit against the SEC and the Federal Reserve board, with an appeals court ruling that CLO managers are not subject to credit risk retention laws under the Dodd-Frank Act