Las Vegas, Nev. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) yesterday joined representatives from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as well as Nevada Securities Administrator Erin Houston to discuss how investors can manage investments and protect themselves from fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was glad to get a chance to join regulators at the state and federal levels today working hard to make sure investors are protected and have key information during the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic presents a real risk to investors, because economic downturns create the potential for new scams and fraud. I was Nevada’s Attorney General in 2008, during the mortgage crisis, and I saw this firsthand. That’s why I’m committed to continuing my work in the Senate to support a strong and stable financial system that will create prosperity for Nevadans.”
BACKGROUND:
Senator Cortez Masto has pushed for robust investor and consumer protections during her time in the Senate. As a result of her advocacy on behalf of investors, FINRA is now finalizing a rule to require brokers receiving a bequest from their clients to disclose the bequest to their firms. She has also encouraged FINRA to strengthen protections from firms and brokers with a history of bad behavior. In related policies, she introduced legislation that would provide financial compensation to whistleblowers reporting wrongdoing to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She has also introduced a bill to protect American consumers’ right to sue corporations for unfair practices. The legislation will help ensure that consumers who win fraud consumer causes are not liable for taxes on funds awarded to their attorney, which in some cases may be more than the plaintiff receives in redress.
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