Provided by the office of Colorado Attorney General John Suthers Clinton Dee Fraley Mark Harden[1] News Director- Denver Business Journal Email[2] | Facebook[3] | Twitter[4] | Broadway & 17th blog[5] An Arapahoe County man who formerly worked for investment-services firms has been charged with 46 felony counts in connection with the alleged theft of $532,000 from four Colorado mutual-fund investors, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers[6] announced Friday. The charges against Clinton Dee Fraley[7], 26, include securities fraud, theft, identity theft and forgery, Suthers’ office said. Fraley was arrested in connection with the charges, filed in Arapahoe County Court, and was being held on $500,000 bond. “Fraley stole money one client inherited from her deceased grandparents and entrusted him to invest,” Suthers said in a statement. “That began his pattern of using people’s savings for his own personal use and entertainment.” According to an arrest-warrant affidavit [8]filed with the court in the case, Fraley formerly worked for Northwestern Mutual Investment Services and then Mass Mutual Investors Services, where he sold financial products and had access to investor mutual fund accounts with American Funds. Fraley was terminated by Mass Mutual in September 2011. However, due to an error by Mass Mutual, “he was not removed as the account representative on investor accounts,” the affidavit alleges. “This error meant that Fraley was still able to ... contact American Funds to redeem funds from investor accounts even though his access should have been denied.” The affidavit alleges that Fraley was “able to lead investors to believe that he was still in the financial services industry” and forged checks to gain access to the investors’s funds. The filing alleges that Fraley had been good friends of two of his victims, had served as best man at their wedding, and watched their home for them when…

Bryant Ruiz Switzky[1] Senior Staff Reporter- Washington Business Journal Email[2] | LinkedIn[3] | Twitter[4] As the 2013 proxy season prepares to unfurl, Ernst & Young LLP's[5] District-based Corporate Governance Center has released a preview of the corporate governance themes[6] poised to dominate the conversations between boards of directors and their increasingly engaged shareholders. Last year saw a major rise in communication between companies and their shareholders, which helped steer board priorities and investor expectations, according to the report. That trend of healthy conversation is continuing this year. "Many management teams and boards [are] showing a greater willingness to have substantive dialogue with shareholders," the report reads. "As a result, companies are under pressure to develop effective shareholder communication practices." One example of that is Olney-based Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc., which has received some shareholder push-back on executive pay and last week said it has tweaked its parachute payment policies[7] in ways that will likely make good governance watchdogs smile. While companies are having better dialogue with their largest shareholders, the volume of shareholder-introduced proposals, which are inherently a bit confrontational, is still high. These proposals are put up for a shareholder vote on proxy statements, though the companies usually recommend that shareholders vote "no." The most common shareholder proposals submitted this year, according to the report are: Eliminating staggered boards and electing all directors annually, as well as making them electable by a majority of votes cast, as opposed to a plurality of votes (plurality voting allows directors who were rejected by most shareholders to keep their posts)Reporting all lobbying activities by the companyAppointing an independent board chairEliminating accelerated vesting and tax gross-ups (where the company pays the taxes levied on some executive pay)Reporting political spendingReporting environmental sustainability Bryant Ruiz Switzky covers banking, finance and corporate accountability. References^ Bryant Ruiz…

Jeff Clabaugh[1] Broadcast/Web Reporter- Washington Business Journal Email[2] | Twitter[3] Mortgage rates show no sign of moving much from the near-record lows they've held for the last year. Freddie Mac's[4] weekly rate report puts the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.52 percent in the week ending March 7, up from 3.51 percent last week. A 15-year fix averaged 2.76 percent this week, unchanged from last week. A one-year adjustable rate mortgage averaged 2.63 percent this week, down from 2.64 percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association[5] says mortgage applications rose 15 percent last week, from strong demand from both buyers and existing homeowners refinancing. Jeff Clabaugh covers general assignment and provides business coverage for WTOP. References^ Jeff Clabaugh (feeds.bizjournals.com)^ Email (feeds.bizjournals.com)^ Twitter (twitter.com)^ Freddie Mac's (www.bizjournals.com)^ Mortgage Bankers Association (www.bizjournals.com)...