In the roll-up to the Labor Day weekend, the SEC issued new rules regarding asset backed securities and credit rating agencies. The Commission also announced a new pilot program on tick size....more
8/28/2014
/ Asset-Backed Securities ,
Citigroup ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Insider Trading ,
New Regulations ,
SEC v Citigroup ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
The SEC may be developing theme based insider trading cases. In recent weeks the agency brought two insider trading actions centered on golfing friends. SEC v. O’Neill, Civil Action No. 1:14-cv-13381 (D. Mass. Filed August...more
The Second Circuit upheld SEC Rule 10b-5-2 which defines certain types of relationships as the predicate for insider trading. In reaching its conclusion the Court rejected an argument that an insider trading claim must be...more
Golf is becoming a recurring theme in insider trading cases. Last month the SEC brought an insider trading action against a group of golf friends. That action, detailed here, was supported by a series of e-mails among the...more
Insider trading cases frequently turn on the nature of the relationship between the trader and the person who is the source of information. The breach of that relationship of trust and confidence can supply the statutory...more
The SEC filed a settled insider trading case against a partner in an investor relations firm who traded securities based on information he obtained from draft press releases he worked on for firm clients. The settled action...more
For former Qualcomm Inc. Executive Vice President Jing Wang the cover-up not only failed but increased his liability. The former executive pleaded guilty this week to securities fraud based on his insider trading, money...more
The SEC’s insider trading probe regarding the House Ways and Means Committee and a senior staff member, also involves 44 investment funds and other entities, according to a Bloomberg news report citing recently filed court...more
7/18/2014
/ Bank Fraud ,
CFTC ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ernst & Young ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
Legislative Committees ,
Market Manipulation ,
Misappropriation ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC got a much needed courtroom win with a jury verdict in the Wyly case. The insider trading claim, however, was not submitted to the jury because any penalty was time barred. That claim, which was little more than the...more
Insider trading is generally a profit making venture. But not always as a group of golf friends recently learned – and documented in numerous e-mails that may have actually created a better evidentiary trail than the much...more
The unblemished record of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office in insider trading cases came to an end this week with the acquittal of Rengan Rajaratnam, brother of the convicted Galleon Fund founder. This is the first loss...more
7/11/2014
/ Audits ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Misrepresentation ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Municipal Securities Market ,
PCAOB ,
Raj Rajaratnam ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement
The New York Attorney General’s insider trading 2.0 investigation is apparently expanding. Initially the investigation concerned the limits of insider trading, pushing the issue into questions more akin to fairness and a...more
The Commission brought an insider trading action centered on repeated trades in the same shares over a 40 month period. SEC v. Khan, Civil Action No 14-cv-2743 (N. D. Cal. Filed June 13, 2014). The defendants are Saleem Khan,...more
The Commission failed to prove its insider trading claims to the satisfaction of a jury for the second week in a row. This time a Los Angeles jury rejected claims of the agency against a corporate executive that were tied to...more
6/13/2014
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Liquidnet ,
Market Manipulation ,
Misrepresentation ,
Offerings ,
Pay or Play ,
PCAOB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
On Friday, May 30th a Manhattan jury returned a verdict against the SEC in the long-running and high profile insider trading case, SEC v. Obus. One week later on Friday, June 6, 2014 a jury on the other side of the country...more
The SEC had mixed results in court this week. A Manhattan jury returned a verdict against the agency in a high profile and long-running insider trading case where the agency had previously obtained favorable rulings from the...more
6/6/2014
/ Bitcoin ,
Chevron Deference ,
Citigroup ,
Collateralized Debt Obligations ,
Consent Decrees ,
Electronic Blue Sheets ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
GE Capital Retail Bank ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Judge Rakoff ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
The SEC continues to struggle with its swagger. The claim that it has returned is, at best, debatable. Clearly prevailing in the SEC v. Wyly, 10 Civ. 5760 (S.D.N.Y. Verdict May 12, 2014) earlier this month was a major and...more
In a holiday shortened week, the SEC filed actions based on the malfeasance at a transfer agent, financial fraud, insider trading and investment fund fraud. The action involving the transfer agent stems from an inspection and...more
The Commission filed two settled insider trading cases against medical practitioners who traded while in possession of material non-public information regarding clinical trials for a drug. SEC v. Lama, Case No. 5:14-cv-00996...more
5/20/2014
/ Clinical Trials ,
Disgorgement ,
Injunctions ,
Insider Trading ,
Medical Devices ,
Non-Public Information ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prejudgment Interest ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Section 17(a) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Commission got split decisions in court this week. It prevailed in one high profile trial, obtaining a jury verdict in its favor. It lost a significant summary judgment motion regarding the statute of limitations...more
Most insider trading cases center on news about a corporate event such as an acquisition or an earnings announcement that has not become public. In SEC v. Lawson, Civil Action No. 3:14-cv-02157 (N.D. Cal. Filed May 12, 2014)...more
The Commission issued an order which stayed the small segment of its controversial conflict mineral rule which the Court of Appeals concluded violated the First Amendment. The order does not impact the bulk of the rule. This...more
5/9/2014
/ Breach of Duty ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Custody Rule ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
First Amendment ,
Form SD ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
PCAOB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tax Evasion
The Commission filed two groups of settled insider trading actions centered on the merger of eBay, Inc. with Pennsylvania based e-commerce company GSI Commerce, Inc., announced on March 28, 2011. The first group traces to...more
Insider trading and fraudulent investment schemes were the focus of SEC enforcement this week. The Commission filed insider trading actions tied to the massive BP oil spill, clinical trials for a drug and the expert network...more
The Commission filed another settled insider trading case tied to its long-running expert network investigation. This time the action traces to the source of tips regarding Nvidia Corporation, Chris Choi. SEC v. Choi...more