On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in SEC v. Jarkesy, et al. and agreed to hear the case that could potentially end the use of administrative courts and administrative law judges (ALJ) in administrative...more
In recent years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has had its eye on the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) market — warning investors against putting money into SPACs, expressing skepticism about...more
In March 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division updated its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (ECCP) guidance to address the use of personal devices and third-party messaging applications by...more
On March 14, DXC Technology Company (DXC) settled charges alleged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for $8 million. The SEC claimed that DXC made misleading disclosures and lacked adequate disclosure controls...more
On February 3, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that video game developer Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision) agreed to pay $35 million to settle accusations that it violated whistleblower...more
On December 13, federal prosecutors announced criminal fraud and money laundering charges against Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in the wake of the collapse of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), the crypto asset trading platform that SBF...more
On November 15, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its enforcement results for fiscal year 2022, which featured the following key metrics...more
In this episode of The Crypto Exchange, Troutman Pepper Partners Ethan Ostroff and Keith Barnett welcome their colleague Jay Dubow to discuss recent updates in the crypto space related to activities by regulators on the state...more
A recent decision out of the District of New Hampshire underscores the risks proprietary cryptocurrency issuers face and provides ammunition to the SEC in its continued quest to classify cryptocurrencies as securities subject...more
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear CPA Michelle Cochran’s appeal represents the latest challenge to the Security and Exchange Commission’s in-house adjudicatory structure and could set the stage for a larger ruling on the...more
Independent auditors have been placed on notice to tighten internal fraud investigations following an October 11 statement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) chief accountant, which can be found here. This...more
While the phrase “clandestine messaging” evokes secret notes slipped under doors and written in code, its meaning in the world of securities regulation and enforcement is not nearly as romantic as the name suggests....more
Two recent judicial developments create questions about the constitutionality of the SEC’s in-house judicial system. First, on May 16, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Michelle Cochran, an accountant facing...more
On October 12, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s decision in SEC v. Blackburn, awarding disgorgement to alleged victims of a penny stock fraud scheme subject to SEC enforcement action. This...more
On October 18, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued cease-and-desist letters directing two virtual currency lending platforms to cease “unregistered and unlawful” lending activities in New York State within 10 days,...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to return to a policy, requiring companies to admit wrongdoing to settle certain enforcement actions, according to the SEC Division of Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal. ...more
Summary -
The U.S. Courts of Appeal for the First and Second Circuits have split on the issue of whether a plaintiff must satisfy the Second Circuit’s “predominantly foreign” test (set forth in Parkcentral Global Hub Ltd....more
Live Life Federal Credit Union, a $69 million-asset credit union based in Fraser, Michigan, recently consented to a cease-and-desist order issued by the National Credit Union Administration Board (NCUA). The enforcement...more
Who Needs to Know -
Financial Advisors and Institutions, Traders, Investors, Corporations.
Why It Matters -
As evidenced in the FY 2020 Division of Enforcement Annual Report (Report), the COVID-19 pandemic did not...more
On December 9, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled an enforcement action against ICE Data Pricing & Reference Data LLC (PRD), a global securities pricing service and registered investment adviser, for...more
On February 9, Acting Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) Chair Allison Herren Lee announced that senior officers in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement (Division) will once again be authorized to approve the...more
On Friday January 1, with the Senate’s floor vote to override the president’s veto, Congress passed the 60th annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Encompassed within the $740.5 billion military spending bill is an...more
1/4/2021
/ Congressional Override ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
NDAA ,
Presidential Veto ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Statute of Limitations
Who Needs to Know -
Publicly traded companies, specifically those whose business was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic....more
Who Needs to Know -
Public companies and their directors and officers as well as brokers, dealers, investment advisors, investment companies and their associated persons....more
A near-unanimous majority of the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld, and simultaneously reigned in, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) ability to obtain disgorgement under the federal securities laws. In the...more
6/26/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)