On May 22, 2025, the SEC brought a case of affinity fraud before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Bay Area real estate investor Kenneth Mattson alleging more than $46 million in...more
7/2/2025
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Fraud ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investors ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
In Hollywood, the sequel (or, even more so, the third installment) is rarely as good as the original movie. In the world of enforcement, the same rings true....more
3/6/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consent Order ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Financial Crimes ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Subsidiaries ,
White Collar Crimes
The dog days of late summer are a frenzied time within the SEC's Division of Enforcement as staff work feverishly to complete their investigations and secure the requisite yes vote from a majority of commissioners to...more
12/9/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Market Manipulation ,
Private Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
The SEC on Feb. 29, 2024, announced settled charges against Lordstown Motors Corp. (Lordstown) for allegedly misleading investors about sales prospects for the Endurance, Lordstown's flagship pickup truck for the electric...more
3/13/2024
/ Auditor Independence ,
Audits ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
PCAOB ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Startups
As the SEC closed its fiscal year, it filed three separate enforcement actions against companies for purported violations of Rule 21F-17 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, which prohibits persons from impeding...more
10/10/2023
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Remediation ,
Retaliation ,
Rule 21F-17 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Separation Agreement ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
In a monumental decision that will likely have substantial ramifications for crypto industry developers, securities practitioners, and millions of investors and token purchasers alike, on July 13, 2023, the U.S. District...more
7/20/2023
/ Algorithmic Trading ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Process ,
Fair Notice ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Howey ,
Institutional Investors ,
Popular ,
Registration Statement ,
Ripple ,
Securities ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities
A recent enforcement action from the Fort Worth Regional Office of the SEC reminds one of the agency's investor-protection mission and continued focus on those who deceive retail investors in the private offer and sale of...more
6/27/2023
/ Enforcement Actions ,
FEMA ,
Howey ,
Jurisdiction ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Material Misstatements ,
Misappropriation ,
Offering Documents ,
Offering Fraud ,
Omissions ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Registration Requirement ,
Retail Investors ,
Reves v Ernst & Young ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations
Outside of the small circle of federal securities law nerds (we proudly proclaim our membership), the phrase "disclosure controls and procedures" (DCP) rarely garners much attention. However, a recent settled order issued by...more
The sun is shining, children are out of school, families are headed off on summer vacations, and the SEC is … bringing enforcement actions against companies for 2020 fraud related to COVID-19 products. One such action was...more
6/8/2022
/ Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Medical Supplies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
Stock Prices ,
Trading Suspension
Continuing its focus on crypto enforcement, the SEC on May 3, 2022, announced the addition of 20 positions to its relaunched Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit – formerly the Cyber Unit. The additions nearly double the size of the...more
5/3/2022
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations
As we continue our review of FY 2021 SEC enforcement activity, we turn our attention to a topic that, if not already a key focus for publicly traded companies, should be. As part of their effort to recruit and retain...more