Each year, the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and in recent years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") dedicate substantial resources to investigating and...more
On May 18, 2022, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that key aspects of the SEC's in-house enforcement regime for securities fraud cases were unconstitutional. The decision, Jarkesy v. SEC, has significant...more
5/23/2022
/ Adjudicatory Process ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Lack of Authority ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") Climate and ESG Task Force has filed one of its most significant enforcement matters to date. On April 28, 2022, the SEC brought an action in the U.S. District Court for...more
On January 28, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced a settled fraud case with HeadSpin, Inc., a technology start-up, that allegedly engaged in a scheme to boost the company's valuation to more...more
We are pleased to present our year-end update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
Under the second year of the Trump Administration, the biggest story was the increase of corporate declinations one year after the DOJ adopted a permanent FCPA policy incentivizing self-disclosure, cooperation, and...more
1/16/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Self-Reporting ,
Subsidiaries ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes
The Situation: Despite Equifax's use of a cover story to keep employees from learning it was the victim of a serious data breach, a then-employee allegedly figured it out and made illegal securities trades based on the...more
7/16/2018
/ Blackout Rules ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Equifax ,
Former Employee ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
On August 23, 2017, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the insider trading conviction of Matthew Martoma, a former portfolio manager for SAC Capital Advisors LLP ("SAC Capital"). In doing so, the court overturned...more
10/2/2017
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Personal Benefit ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Reaffirmation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman
On June 5, 2017, in an unanimous ruling in Kokesh v. SEC, No. 16-529, the United States Supreme Court significantly limited the breadth of the Securities and Exchange Commission's primary enforcement tool. The Court held that...more
6/7/2017
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Punitive Damages ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Statute of Limitations