SECURITIES

SEC Alleges Prison-Run Scheme: The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a federal judge to close Citi Financial Services, a Los Angeles-based company that the agency alleges has fraudulently marketed “brokered” certificates of deposit nationwide. The SEC says that Citi has collected at least $400,000 from savers and that instead of using the money to buy CDs for its clients, Citi’s principals have “instead used the money they fraudulently obtained for their own use and benefit.” The SEC says the elaborate scheme, which targeted retirees and played off the name of New York banking giant Citicorp, was directed by Harold Goldstein, who is serving a term in federal prison in Lompoc for mail and wire fraud. Citi Financial did not return phone calls.