SECURITIES

California Firms, Hong Kong Parent Charged With Fraud: Regulators froze the assets of Lida International Financial Data Inc. of San Gabriel, Worth Financial Data Inc. of San Francisco and Topworth International Ltd. of Hong Kong., accusing them of defrauding Asian residents of California by illegally selling futures contracts for gold, silver and foreign currencies. California Commissioner of Corporations Gary Mendoza called the case “a classic example of affinity group fraud,” with members of a minority group preying on people of similar background. The state Department of Corporations and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed an action in federal court against the firms. They are accused of violating state and federal commodities laws by selling futures contracts on unregistered exchanges.