The First SEC-Qualified Token Offering Raises $23M

Muneeb Ali, the founder of Blockstack PBC, released a blog post this week reporting that his company has raised $23 million in public token offerings. This is significant because Blockstack PBC was the first crypto company to gain… Read More

Shell Shocked – FBI Uses Receivership Shell In Sting

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have announced charges against five individuals, who the authorities allege  attempted to manipulate shares of Boston-based Amogear Inc.  A… Read More

SEC Questions Starbucks’ Accounting Policies

Starbucks’ stock fell today after news broke that the Securities and Exchange Commission sent a letter questioning the way that Starbucks recognizes its revenue. New accounting guidelines were implemented at the end of 2018 that is affecting many… Read More

Form 8-A and Form 10 Registration Statements – Securities Lawyer 101

Form 10 and 8-A can be used to register both debt and equity securities. Upon effectiveness, the issuer becomes subject to SEC reporting requirements.  This is different from a Securities Act registration, in which a company registers a certain number of a class of securities (debt or equity) for a particular public distribution.

Leading Vaping Company Juul Warned About its Practices

According to CNBC, the FDA has slammed vaping company Juul for illegal marketing practices and is threatening fines and seizures against the company. Juul has been claiming that its vapes/e-cigarettes are healthy alternatives to cigarettes, but it turns… Read More

Infamous Former Pharma CEO Martin Shkreli Sues Investor from Prison

Martin Shkreli, who gained infamy in 2015 for buying the drug Daraprim, an antiparasite that costs pennies to make, and raising its price to $750 per pill, then later doing all sorts of crazy things, is back at… Read More

Public Company SEC Reporting Requirements – Form S-1 Disclosures

Once the SEC staff declares your company’s Securities Act registration statement on Form S-1 effective, the public company becomes subject to the SEC’s reporting requirements . 

When Private Placements Go Public – Rule 506-c Attorneys

Rule 506 of Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933 provides a private placement exemption from federal securities registration which is increasingly being used by companies seeking to raise capital prior to going public. 

Accredited Investor Status Under Rule 506(c) l Securities Lawyer 101

Rule 506(c) is the most commonly used exemption of the Regulation D of the Securities Act. Rule 506(c) allows the issuer to use general solicitation and advertising so long as sales are only made to purchasers who the issuer verifies as an “accredited investor”.

SEC Charges ICO Rating with Failing to Disclose it was Paid to Tout Digital Assets

The Russian entity ICO Rating is an online presence that shares information about ICOs (initial coin offerings), which have grown alongside the rapid rise of cryptocurrency in the past few years. ICO Rating settled with the SEC for… Read More

Smooth Sailing For General Solicitation Under Rule 506(c) – Going Public Lawyers

Rule 506(c) fundamentally changes how private placements will be conducted, by allowing issuers to engage in general solicitation and advertising if they comply with the Rule’s specific requirements. The advantages offered by Rule 506(c) are significant for issuers… Read More

What is an Exempt Direct Public Offering? Rule 506(c) Offering Attorneys

An exempt Direct Public Offering can involve a private placement under Rules 506(c) or 504 of Regulation D.  The most commonly used Direct Public Offering exemption is Rule 506(c).

Securities Offering Exemptions – SEC Concept Release

SEC Concept Release on Harmonization of Securities Offering Exemptions In the wake of the stock market crash of 1929, the public had lost confidence in the entirely unregulated U.S. markets. Congress sought to restore it by creating a… Read More

The Emerging Growth Company & Confidential Submission of Draft Registration Statements

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog In order to qualify for many of the benefits created by Title I of the JOBS Act, an issuer must qualify as an Emerging Growth Company. The JOBS Act created a new disclosure standard… Read More

Penny Stock Scalping 101 – Securities Lawyer 101

Stock scalping refers to the illegal and deceptive practice of recommending that others purchase a security while secretly selling the same security.  In recent years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and Department of Justice have brought… Read More

SEC Form D Requirements, Regulation D, Notice of Sales

SEC Form D Requirements, Regulation D, Notice of Sales

SEC Form 8-K Current Reports, Filing Requirements l Securities Lawyer 101

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Private companies going public should be familiar with the requirements of Form 8-K.  Once a company completes its going public transaction and its Form S-1 is effective,  it is required to comply with the… Read More

Form 10-Q Quarterly Reports, Filing Requirements l Going Public Lawyer

Publicly traded companies with a class of securities registered under Section 12 or subject to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), are subject to the SEC’s periodic and current reporting requirements… Read More

What is an Accredited Investor? Securities Lawyer 101

Dodd-Frank amended the definition of an “accredited” investor to exclude the value of an investor’s primary residence when determining whether the net worth of that person exceeds the $1 million net worth test.  Under the amended rule, for purposes of calculating net worth in determining status of accredited investors, the value of an investor’s primary residence may not be included.

S-1 Registration Requirements, Filing Form S-1, S-1 Offering, S-1 Lawyers

S-1 Filing Requirements, Filing Form S-1, S-1 Offering, S-1 Lawyers – The process of going public using Form S-1 must be structured properly to be successful. Form S-1 is one of the most common forms used to register securities.

Dormant Shell Companies For Reverse Mergers Suspended by the SEC While Delinquent Filers Run Wild

Its object is to render useless and worthless dormant shell companies that might otherwise be hijacked, used in reverse mergers, and ultimately pumped and dumped. 

Going Public – Regulation A+ – IPO Alternative

Regulation A contains two exemptions with unique requirements and benefits. Regulation A Tier 1 and Tier 2 allow the issuer to raise up to $20 million and $50 million, respectively every 12 months.

Form F-1 Foreign Issuer Registration Statements and Going Public

SEC Form F-1 is commonly used by foreign issuers in connection with their going public transaction. Typically, foreign companies seeking to raise capital attempt to obtain public company status.  Foreign companies that go public in the U.S. can register… Read More

Will Form 12b-25 Extend 10-Q’s Due Date? l Securities Lawyer 101

Form 12b-25 provides the issuer with a 5 day extension within which to file the Form 10-Q or 15 days for a Form 10-K.

SEC Charges Lloyd Schuman with Repeated Insider Trading

The SEC charged on May 9, 2019, Lloyd Schuman and Dane Janes for insider trading and for repeatedly traded and tipped on confidential information that they obtained through their respective employers. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S…. Read More

SEC Charges Danny Williams Former Executive of a Truckload Freight Company with Accounting Fraud

On May 9,2019, the SEC charged Danny Williams, the former President of Quality Companies, LLC, a former subsidiary of Indianapolis-based Celadon Group Inc., with an accounting fraud that allowed Celadon to avoid disclosing substantial losses and misrepresent its… Read More

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Rocco Roveccio for Defrauding Customers

On May 3, 2019, a federal district court entered a final consent judgment against Rocco Roveccio, a broker who was charged with defrauding customers by making unsuitable and unauthorized trades and churning customers’ accounts, which enriched the broker… Read More

What is a Penny Stock? Securities Lawyer 101

The term “penny stock” refers to a security issued by a company whose shares that trades at less than $5 per share on the OTC Markets Group, Inc.’s OTC Link.

SEC Announces Fraud Charges in Ticket Resale Investment Scam

On April 29,2019, the SEC charged James Siniscalchi, a New York City man with continuing a previously charged scheme, stealing millions of dollars from investors who were allegedly falsely promised their funds would be used for the purchase and… Read More

SEC Obtains Asset Freeze in Connection with Alleged Insider Trading

The SEC announced on April 29,2019, the entry of an emergency court order freezing assets related to alleged insider trading that yielded approximately $2.5 million in profits in connection with the April 12, 2019 announcement that oil-and-gas conglomerate… Read More