A recurrent theme in today’s enforcement environment is parallel and often overlapping proceedings. That is the case with a District of Columbia based broker that drew sanctions from the SEC, FINRA and DC. In the Matter of...more
8/17/2015
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cease and Desist ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Insurance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Misrepresentation ,
Promissory Notes ,
Restitution ,
Sanctions ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
A second insider trading action was brought by the Commission against a senior banking official based on the same take-over for which he was previously charged — but a different securities trading account is at the center of...more
8/14/2015
/ Administrative Hearings ,
Banking Sector ,
BHP Billiton ,
Confidential Information ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Offering Fraud ,
Popular ,
Regulation SHO ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
Underwriting
Dark pools are one of the issues which have been debated at least since Michael Lewis published Flash Boys and Scott Patterson put out Dark Pools. To date the SEC has brought two actions involving the trading venues. One was...more
8/13/2015
/ Algorithmic Trading ,
Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Confidential Information ,
Dark Pool ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Prejudgment Interest ,
Proprietary Information ,
Proprietary Trading ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Cyber security is a key focus for virtually everyone these days. The SEC, for example, has been issuing releases discussing disclosure requirements and offering guidance for a number of years. Prominent issuers have reported...more
8/12/2015
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hackers ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Press Releases ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Traditional News ,
Ukraine
Failure to disclose conflicts of interest and/or to comply with firm procedures are the predicates for a series of SEC enforcement actions involving regulated entities. The most recent example of these trends is an action...more
Amid all the concern regarding the selection by the SEC of an administrative rather than a district court forum for brining agency enforcement action comes a decision which has the potential to change the tenor of the debate,...more
The SEC issued its final Dodd-Frank pay ratio rules this week by a 3-2 vote. It also issued its final registration rules for Security-Based Swap Dealers and Major Security-Based swap participants.
More questions were...more
8/7/2015
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Australia ,
CFTC ,
Class Action ,
Custody Rule ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Final Rules ,
Fraud ,
Investment Fraud ,
Pay Ratio ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Swap Dealers
The former Controller at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC was sentenced following the entry of guilty pleas in 2012. He is the last of the Madoff employees to be sentenced to prison. U.S. v. O’Hara, Case No....more
SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher provided something of a score card for activities over the past five years he has served on the agency prior to his impending departure. To the surprise of few he panned the Dodd-Frank and...more
The number of securities class actions filed in the first half of 2015 is essentially flat compared to historical averages, according to a new report by Cornerstone Research titled Securities Class Action Filings, 2015...more
The Government filed its long awaited Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the Supreme Court in the Newman insider trading case. The Petition presents three key issues which were generally presaged in the request for...more
8/3/2015
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Dell ,
Hedge Funds ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
NVIDIA ,
Personal Benefit ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
US v Newman
The Government requested that the Supreme Court overturn U.S. v. Newman, the Second Circuit’s decision on tipping and the personal benefit test. Previously, the Second Circuit had declined a request to either rehear the case...more
7/31/2015
/ Australia ,
Australian Securities and Investments Commission ,
Brokers ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Misrepresentation ,
Offering Fraud ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
US v Newman
The SEC entered into partial settlements with three persons charged with acting as brokers without registering. The charges were tied to an offering fraud which centered on selling interests in a firm that claimed to be...more
The SEC filed another settled action in which payments to health care professionals at state owned entities in China were alleged to be violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Although the company furnished extensive...more
7/29/2015
/ Books & Records ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
China ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Disgorgement ,
Distributors ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Internal Controls ,
Marketing ,
Prejudgment Interest ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
As the Chinese stock market continues to spiral down, news agencies continue to report on the efforts of the government to abate the crash. In contrast, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong is reporting another...more
The Commission has brought a series of cases focused on undisclosed conflicts of regulated entities. A number of those cases centered on undisclosed fee and compensation arrangements. In its most recent case the agency went...more
The SEC filed three actions following-up on its settled proceeding against Oppenheimer for selling millions of shares of unregistered penny stocks. Each individual settled with the agency. In addition, the Commission brought...more
7/24/2015
/ Administrative Hearings ,
Auditors ,
Australia ,
Bribery ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Construction Contracts ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FOIA ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hong Kong ,
Oppenheimer & Co. ,
PCAOB ,
Penny Stocks ,
Price Manipulation ,
Pump and Dump ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tax Returns ,
Whistleblowers
Microcap fraud has been a priority of SEC Enforcement since at least the formation of the Microcap Task Force about two years ago. The Commission has brought a series of cases focused largely on pump-and-dump schemes....more
A critical part of cooperating with an SEC or DOJ investigation for FCPA or other possible violations is the production of documents. In order for the company to assess what happened it must conduct an internal investigation...more
7/22/2015
/ Books & Records ,
Business Privilege ,
Confidential Information ,
Cooperation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Document Productions ,
Eli Lilly ,
Exemptions ,
FOIA ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Government Investigations ,
Independent Boards ,
Internal Investigations ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Evaluations
The role of the chief compliance officer is the talk of the Securities and Exchange Commission these days – or at least some of its Commissioners. Those who are speaking for the record agree that the role of the CCO is...more
The DOJ resolved another FCPA action with the company entering into a deferred prosecution agreement, paying a criminal fine and agreeing to the imposition of a monitor after self reporting and cooperating. Two of the firm’s...more
7/20/2015
/ Bribery ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Construction Industry ,
Corporate Officers ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Indonesia
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce published a report containing a series of recommendations regarding the SEC’s Enforcement program. Several recommendations focused on the use of administrative proceedings, including one which...more
7/17/2015
/ Administrative Hearings ,
Australia ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Cooperation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
Mary Jo White ,
Misrepresentation ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Wells Notice
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce published a report regarding the enforcement practices of the SEC titled “Examining U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement: Recommendations on Current Processes and Practices, July...more
Microcap fraud has been a priority for SEC Enforcement at least since the creation of the Microcap Fraud Task Force two years ago. The cases typically focus on market manipulation claims of shell companies and pump-and–dump...more
DOJ and SEC officials repeatedly encourage cooperation. There are benefits for both sides. Cooperation can facilitate the Government’s investigation, providing a road to the scheme. Testimony can aid in obtaining a favorable...more
7/14/2015
/ Cooperation ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Forfeiture ,
Government Investigations ,
Insider Trading ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Restitution ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
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