PODCAST: PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Cease and Desist Letters: Protecting Your Intellectual Property the Right Way
The Power of Lawyer Letters
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Deep Dive into Mass Mailings by Debt Relief Law Firms
Who may be interested: Registered Funds, Registered Investment Advisers, Registered Broker-Dealers, Compliance Staff, Boards of Directors. Quick Take: On August 29, 2025, the SEC, in separate actions, sanctioned a registered...more
On August 11, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought two settled administrative proceedings against a broker-dealer and one of its registered representatives for violations of Regulation Best Interest...more
A broker-dealer (the “Dealer”) entered into a cease-and-desist order with the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to maintain and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance...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
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against 26 broker-dealers, investment advisers, and dually-registered firms for widespread and longstanding failures to maintain and preserve electronic...more
Tracking the key areas of concern to SEC enforcement can be beneficial for issuers, investment advisers and others that may be subject to scrutiny by the Commission. For example, identifying key areas of focus by determining...more
Hollywood martial arts sensei Steven Seagal was recently karate-chopped by the SEC for his alleged undisclosed payments for Twitter-touting a security that was being offered and sold in an initial coin offering. In a settled...more
In a flurry of activity and confluence of developments, the SEC, FINRA and a Brooklyn federal judge have commenced actions and made rulings that continue to define the regulatory framework and obligations surrounding the sale...more
The surge in cryptocurrency activity has led to an increase in attention from enforcement authorities at both the state and national levels. The Texas State Securities Board launched an investigation into cryptocurrency...more
The Securities Division of Tennessee’s Department of Commerce and Industry has increased its enforcement activity during 2016. The recent actions include: Final Administrative Orders: Clifton Alexander and HugeROI.com...more
Ponzi scheme cases have, of course, become a staple of SEC enforcement since the discovery of Madoff’s unprecedented scheme. While there seems to be a virtually endless number of these cases centered on the preverbal “to good...more
Rochdale Securities LLC, at one time a small Commission registered broker-dealer based in Stamford, Connecticut, is perhaps best known as the firm where a registered representative and his customer placed orders for over 1.6...more
The SEC prevailed on two summary judgment motions. One centered on a manipulation action. The other was against an attorney who facilitated a prime bank fraud. The Commission also filed: An action against UBS tied to its...more
On September 22, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and R.T. Jones Capital Equities Management, Inc. (“R.T. Jones”), a St. Louis-based investment adviser, settled charges that R.T. Jones failed to adopt...more
Highlights Areas of High Risk and Examination Priorities for Financial Industry Firms - On September 15, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations (OCIE),...more
In recent years, the SEC has been focused on cybersecurity. It has issued risk alerts, conducted examinations and provided guidance about what the agency sees as widespread weaknesses in many policies and procedures to...more