Auction-Rate Crackdown Widens

The state of New York on Thursday joined a widening array of prosecutors and customers accusing Wall Street firms of wrongdoing in efforts to hold together the $330 billion auction-rate securities market before it collapsed in February.

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed civil fraud charges against UBS AG, accusing the firm of a "multibillion-dollar consumer and securities fraud," and demanding that the firm pay back its profits from the business, make investors whole and pay damages.

A spokeswoman for UBS said, "We will vigorously defend ourselves against this complaint."

The New York attorney's case echoes a similar case brought ...