SEC Charges Benja and Andrew J. Chapin With Defrauding Investors
Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") charged a San Francisco-based e-commerce startup and its chief executive officer with misleading investors…
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SEC Warns Broker-Dealers of Risks Associated with Offshore Omnibus Accounts Transacting in “Penny Stocks”
Last week, the SEC Division of Trading and Markets published a staff bulletin highlighting various risks for broker-dealers arising from certain transactions…
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SEC Enforcement Actions Decline in 2020
According to the annual report published by the Division of Enforcement of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), there were…
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Caveat Emptor Securities Hit with a Big Setback
Last week, E*TRADE, a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, which offers an electronic trading platform to trade financial assets including common stocks, announced…
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SEC Awards Two Unique Whistleblower Awards
On November 13, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced an award of over $1.1 million to a whistleblower whose…
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SEC Amends Regulation A, Crowdfunding and Rule 504 Securities Exemptions
The SEC adopted amendments to: (1) establish a new integration framework for issuers to move from one securities offering exemption to another;…
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SEC Charges John McAfee, Jimmy Watson, Jr with Fraudulently Touting ICOs
On October 6, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged businessman and computer programmer, John McAfee, for promoting investments in…
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Edward T. Kelly, Aceto Corporation Controller, Charged with Insider Trading
Edward T. Kelly, Aceto Corporation, Insider Trading, Lakewood Ranch Florida
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SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Nicholas Tornello, Hill International, Inc
On October 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania entered a final consent judgment against Nicholas Tornello,…
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SEC Proposes Exemptive Relief for Finders
At its October 7, 2020 open meeting, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) voted to propose exemptive relief for certain finders…
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SEC Amends Rule 15c2-11, Form 211 Amendments
On September 16, 2020, SEC amended Exchange Act Rule 15c2-11 and Form 211. Changes to Rule 15c2-11 were proposed last year. The OTC…
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SEC Amends Regulation S-K Item 101, 103 and 105
On August 26, 2020, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) finalized its proposed rule amending the disclosure requirements under…
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SEC Amends Accredited Investor Definition – Rule 506 Offerings
Rule 506 Offerings are the most common of the Regulation D exemptions from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended…
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SEC Says toxic funder John M. Fife is an Unregistered Dealer
The SEC filed an enforcement action against John Fife, an unregistered dealer and 5 companies he controlled including St. George Investments LLC…
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Business Identity Theft: State of the Industry Report
As business owners, it’s important that you watch out for all of these forms of business identity theft. Your business, whether big…
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AmTrust and Ronald E. Pipoly, Jr Charged with Faulty Loss Reserves Disclosures
On June 17th, 2020, the SEC charged international insurance company AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. and its former CFO Ronald E. Pipoly Jr.…
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SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Daniel Adams, Michael Flanders, Spiderworx Media LLC, and An L.A. Minute LLC
The SEC has obtained final judgments against movie director and convicted felon Daniel Adams, music producer Michael Flanders, and companies under their…
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SEC Says Toxic Financing Lender and Dilution Funder John Fierro is a Dealer Not a Trader
Dilution Funders and Dilution Financings Challenged by SEC
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SEC Obtains Judgment Against Giga Entertainment, Inc. CEO Gary Nerlinger
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment as to monetary relief against the former…
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SEC Settles with Three Defendants in Boiler Room Scheme
The SEC announced that it has obtained final judgments by consent against Ronald Hardy, Anthony Vassallo, and Sergio Ramirez charged for their…
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SEC Reaches Settlements with Traders in Newswire Hacking and Trading Scheme
The SEC announced that it has obtained court approval of settlements with eight defendants: Arkadiy Dubovoy, Igor Dubovoy, Southeastern Holding and Investment…
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What Is a Control Person? Control Securities, Resale Requirements
Sales of restricted securities by affiliates and control persons of publicly traded companies are subject to requirements not applicable to other sellers…
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SEC Form 3, Insider Reporting Requirements
Form 3 must be filed within ten (10) calendar days after a person becomes a Section 16 insider. Form 3 is a…
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SEC Trading Suspensions Under the Securities Exchange Act
When the SEC issues a trading suspension pursuant to Section 12(k), trading in the security is halted for the period set forth…
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SEC Charges Jason C. Nielsen in Manipulative Trading Scheme Involving Covid-19 Claims
The SEC charged Jason C. Nielsen, a penny stock trader in Santa Cruz, California, with conducting a fraudulent pump-and-dump scheme in the…
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SEC Enters Final Judgment Against Brandon Copeland, E.B. & Copeland Capital, Inc.
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio entered final consent judgments against recidivist investment adviser Brandon E. Copeland and…
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