Securities Law and Going Public Blog

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Insights on securities law, exchange listings, going public, SEC reporting, and market regulation. Stay updated with our latest articles on capital markets compliance, regulatory developments, and strategic guidance for public and private companies.

Latest Blog Posts

Securities Lawyer, Thomas Craft And Disbarred Attorney, Richard Rubin Charged by SEC for Fraudulent Legal Opinions

OTCQX Listing and Eligibility – OTC Markets Lawyer

OTC Markets Group Inc. operates the OTCQX® Best Market, the OTCQB® Venture Market, and the Pink® Open Market for 11,606 U.S. and…

What is a SPAC?

SPACs, which stand for special purpose acquisition companies, are similar to blank check companies. The SPAC does an Initial Public Offering (an…

Possible replacements for Jay Clayton as SEC Chair

With Jay Clayton stepping down as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission at the end of the year, president-elect Joe…

Jay Clayton won’t be sitting on his hands during his last month as the SEC Chair

On November 16, 2020, Jay Clayton, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, announced that he would be stepping down at the…

Jeffrey D. Martin Charged with Manipulating Publicly Traded Stocks in Multiyear “Pump and Dump” Securities Fraud Scheme Worth Over $19 Million

On November 19, 2020, the United States Attorney William M. McSwain filed a superseded Indictment against Jeffrey D Martin, 61, of Orlando,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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;…

Do Blue Sky Laws Apply to Regulation A Resales and Secondary Trading?

A sometimes overlooked aspect of Regulation A+ is the impact of state blue sky laws on liquidity and resales also known as secondary…

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…

Edward T. Kelly, Aceto Corporation Controller, Charged with Insider Trading

Edward T. Kelly, Aceto Corporation, Insider Trading, Lakewood Ranch Florida

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,…

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…

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…

Can I Use an Online Portal For My Rule 506(c) Offering?

Online Platforms for Rule 506(c) Offerings The most common exemption from SEC Registration is Rule 506(c) of Regulation D which provides for…

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…

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…

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…

SEC Says Ibrahaim Almagarby and Microcap Equity Group Are Unregistered Dealers

We’ve previously written about Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) enforcement actions pending against John Fierro and Justin Keener alleging unregistered dealer activity.…

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…

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.…

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…

SEC Says Toxic Financings by Dilution Funder, John Fierro Make Him a Dealer Not a Trader

Dilution Funders and Dilution Financings Challenged by SEC We recently wrote about two interesting SEC enforcement actions that examine the question of…

SEC Says Toxic Financing Lender and Dilution Funder John Fierro is a Dealer Not a Trader

Dilution Funders and Dilution Financings Challenged by SEC

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…

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…

Explore our curated collection of external resources and industry links that complement our blog content. These hand-picked links provide additional perspectives on securities law, market regulations, and business compliance.

FINRA

https://www.finra.org/

JOBS Act 101

https://www.jobsact101.com/

Go Public 101

https://www.gopublic101.com/

OTC Markets

https://www.otcmarkets.com/

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog

https://ppe.securitieslawyer101.com/blog/

Securities & Exchange Commission

https://www.sec.gov/