On April 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated a summary judgment ruling in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC, also known as Commonwealth...more
4/17/2025
/ Appeals ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Materiality ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Transaction Fees
On November 22, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its enforcement results for fiscal year (FY) 2024. As compared to FY 2023, the Division of Enforcement (the division) reported a 26% decline in the total...more
On September 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an order against three investment adviser firms for violating the whistleblower protections of Rule 21F-17(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This...more
On June 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the first settled case in its ongoing review of collaborations between investment advisors and short publishers. The SEC fined affiliated investment advisors...more
On February 9, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced settlements with 16 firms relating to record-keeping violations stemming from off-channel communications totaling $81 million. The 16 firms were five...more
2/15/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investment Adviser ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regular Business Communications ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Text Messages
Despite a 50% increase in whistleblower tips over fiscal year (FY) 2022, the number of whistleblowers who received awards from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decreased significantly in FY 2023. This trend...more
On November 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its enforcement results for fiscal year 2023, which concluded on September 30. These results provide insight into the SEC's priorities and enforcement...more
On October 19, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissed its claims against Ripple Labs, Inc. (Ripple) executives Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple’s violations of...more
10/23/2023
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trading Platforms
On October 4, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada announced the formation of a new task force, the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force....more
10/13/2023
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
California ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insider Trading ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Evasion ,
Trading Platforms
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case this term involving the circuit split over the types of disclosures that private plaintiffs can enforce under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Section 10(b)...more
10/6/2023
/ Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Macquarie Infrastructure Corp v Moab Partners LP ,
Regulation S-K ,
Rule 10(b) ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
On September 8, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it settled charges against Monolith Resources LLC, a privately held technology and energy company headquartered in Nebraska. The SEC’s...more
Many publicly reporting companies often respond to lawsuits by characterizing them as “without merit” in their securities filings. If the company does not prevail in such litigation, can it still be held responsible for...more
8/17/2023
/ Class Action ,
Misappropriation ,
Misleading Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Smaller Reporting Companies ,
Trademarks
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
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
On August 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly adopted two significant changes to the rules governing its whistleblower program, as proposed in February 2022. These reverse amendments to the same rules...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is testing the bounds of insider trading laws (as previously reported here), and it recently survived the first challenge to its newest theory. On January 14, the U.S. District...more
The SEC’s Division of Enforcement recently issued voluntary information requests to several public companies, inquiring about the details of any impact arising from the widely publicized December 2020 SolarWinds cyberattack....more
Recent commentary by Diana Tani, an assistant regional director with the SEC, at the Securities Enforcement West web conference emphasized the agency's focus on data-driven investigations. Two areas targeted for recent...more
Who Needs to Know -
Publicly traded companies, specifically those whose business was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic....more
Gregory J. Nowak, a partner and practice leader for hedge funds in Pepper Hamilton’s Private Fund Services Practice Group, hosts a series of candid, interactive webinar discussions for West LegalEdcenter on what is going on...more
1/10/2020
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fund Managers ,
Injunctions ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Remediation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Self-Reporting
Federal agencies have long wielded a set of enforcement tools not explicitly provided for by statute. Restitution—used by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to secure billions from defendants—and disgorgement—the Securities...more
11/7/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTCA Section 13(b) ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Section 5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices