The Power of Lawyer Letters
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Deep Dive into Mass Mailings by Debt Relief Law Firms
The SEC’s recent order instituting administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings (OIP) against registered investment advisers Two Sigma Investments LP and Two Sigma Advisers LP illustrates significant risks for investment...more
Prediction market platform Kalshi has secured a preliminary injunction against the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (the Division), preventing the state from enforcing a cease-and-desist order that aimed to halt...more
On January 13, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled enforcement actions with five registered investment advisers for failing to maintain and preserve internal electronic communications. These...more
On November 21, the OCC released a list of recent enforcement actions against national banks, federal savings associations, institution-affiliated parties (IAPs, or individuals associated with these entities). The OCC issued...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
On March 28, the Federal Reserve (Fed) issued a cease-and-desist order to a Wyoming-based bank holding company, citing deficiencies identified in a September 2023 inspection related to its “fintech business strategy, board...more
On March 22, a group of 39 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia (participating states) entered an interim consent order against Sigue Corporation, a licensed money transmitter corporation, ordering it to cease...more
On March 5, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges and a corresponding cease-and-desist order (the “Order”) with ShapeShift AG, a cryptocurrency exchange registered in Switzerland that...more
The Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) has taken action against the former General Counsel of Michigan-based Sterling Bank and Trust in the agency’s latest action against an individual...more
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week...more
The Connecticut Banking Commissioner (Commissioner), acting through the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking (the Division), conducted an investigation into the Law Offices of David M. Katz, discovering that...more
On August 9, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it issued cease and desist orders against three entities for allegedly offering and selling unqualified securities, and...more
Mastercard sent cease and desist letters to payment processors and banks last week. These letters demanded certain financial service providers to stop allowing marijuana transactions on MasterCard debit cards....more
New Crypto Products Launch in Exchanges, Wallets, and Custody - A recent press release announced the launch of EDX Markets, a “first-of-its-kind digital asset marketplace designed to enable safe and compliant trading of...more
On January 24, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau announced it had ordered telecommunications companies to effectively mitigate robocall traffic originating from a Florida-based real estate brokerage firm selling mortgage scams. ...more
On January 19, the SEC charged a Cayman Islands digital asset firm for allegedly failing to register the offer and sale of its retail crypto-asset lending product. According to the SEC’s cease-and-desist order ...more
A couple of weeks ago, we reported on the FDIC and the Federal Reserve Board sending a cease and desist (“C&D”) letter to Voyager Capital to stop representing that customer funds were protected by deposit insurance. This past...more
Last week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) was part of two releases clarifying that only insured banks and thrifts enjoy FDIC insurance, notwithstanding what some non-banks may say in their marketing...more
On May 4, the Connecticut Department of Banking issued a temporary cease and desist order directing a peer-to-peer lending platform that connected borrowers with third-party lenders to cease its lending-related activities on...more
Designed for busy in-house counsel, compliance professionals, and anti-corruption lawyers, this newsletter summarizes some of the most important international anti-corruption developments from the past month, with links to...more
On January 10, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) announced it settled charges in In re tZERO ATS, LLC, No. 93938 (SEC Order Jan. 10, 2022) (“Order”)....more
On January 3, 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) entered an order charging Blockratize, Inc. (d/b/a Polymarket.com) (“Polymarket”) with offering off-exchange binary options contracts and failing to...more
Mashreqbank, based in Dubai, agreed to pay $100 million to the New York Department of Financial Services, the Federal Reserve, and the Office of Foreign Asset Control for violation of the now-repealed Sudan Sanctions...more
John Louis Anthony Bigatton will not be providing financial services in Australia and likely not anywhere else, anytime soon. On Thursday, September 3, 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”)...more
In Scheffler v. Gurstel Chargo, P.A., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit rejected a career plaintiff’s attempts to manufacture a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claim by baiting a debt collector into...more