SEC Charges Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos Inc – Securities Lawyers

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On March 14, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Elizabeth Holmes and  Silicon Valley-based private company Theranos Inc., with raising more than $700 million from investors through an elaborate, years-long fraud scheme in which they exaggerated or made… Read More

SEC Charges Jon E. Montroll and Bitfunder with Bitcoin Fraud

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On February 21, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged a former bitcoin-denominated platform known as BitFunder and its operator with operating an unregistered securities exchange and defrauding users of that Bitcoin exchange. The SEC also charged the… Read More

SEC Charges Niket Shah and Spark Trading for Targeting Retail Investors

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On March 23rd the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges and a preliminary injunction and asset freeze against Niket Shah, a New Jersey resident who it alleges stole more than $250,000 in a Ponzi scheme in which his… Read More

EDGAR Filer, Robert W. Murray Sentenced to Two Years in Fitbit Stock Manipulation Scheme

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On March 9, 2018,  Robert W. Murray was sentenced to two years imprisonment in connection with a scheme to manipulate Fitbit securities through false filings on the SEC’s EDGAR system. Murray pled guilty on November 7, 2017. The criminal charges… Read More

SEC Charges McKinley Mortgage with Scheme to Defraud – Posted by Brenda Hamilton

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One March 22nd the Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges against McKinley Mortgage, the operators of a real estate investment business who engaged in a years-long scheme to bilk hundreds of investors – including many retail investors… Read More

Court Orders Former F-Squared CEO to Pay Over $13 Million

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A federal judge has ordered the co-founder and former CEO of investment management firm F-Squared Investments to pay over $13 million after a federal jury found him liable for making false and misleading statements to investors as the public face… Read More

SEC Charges Robert Ritch in Penny Stock Plan to Pump Stock

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On March 9th the Securities and Exchange Commission barred Tobert Ritch, the president of a penny stock company from ever again serving as a public company officer or director after he was caught making false and misleading statements… Read More

SEC Charges Brian Sodi, the Penny Stock “Mailman” With Scalping Investors In Gold Mining Stocks

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The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Brian Sodi, a penny stock promoter based in Florida with defrauding investors in a pair of gold mining stocks by secretly amassing shares before touting the companies publicly.  He allegedly sold… Read More

Electronic Transaction Clearing -ETC- Charged With Repeatedly Putting Customer Assets At Risk

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On March 19th the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Electronic Transaction Clearing (ETC), a registered broker-dealer headquartered in Los Angeles, has agreed to settle charges that it illegally placed more than $25 million of customers’ securities at risk… Read More

Foreign Affiliates of KPMG, Deloitte, BDO Charged in Improper Audits

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On March 13th the Securities and Exchange Commission charged foreign affiliates of KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, and BDO for their involvement in audit work that circumvented the full oversight of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The… Read More

Former Equifax Executive, Jun Ying Charged With Insider Trading

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On March 14th the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Jun Ying, a former chief information officer of a U.S. business unit of Equifax with insider trading in advance of the company’s September 2017 announcement about a massive data… Read More

SEC Proposes Targeted Changes to Public Liquidity Risk Management Disclosure

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On March 14, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to public liquidity risk related disclosure requirements for certain open-end investment management companies.  Under the proposal, funds would discuss in their annual report the operation and effectiveness… Read More

Sponsoring Market Makers 101 – Form 211 and 15c-211 Requirements

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The Role of Market Makers in Going Public Transactions Market Makers play a critical role in the going public process when compiling information required by Rule 15c-211 and submitting the Form 211. The last step in  a going… Read More

SEC Files Action Against Ariel Quiros & Jay Peak Resort

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According to an SEC complaint filed in 2016 in federal court in Miami, Ariel Quiros allegedly misused more than $50 million in investor funds to purchase a different ski resort and to fund personal expenses such as income taxes and… Read More

Will My Rule 506 Offering Be Integrated? – Going Public Attorneys

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Issuers should consider the impact of offering integration when raising funds in Regulation D, Rule 506 offerings.  The integration rule was created to prevent companies from improperly avoiding SEC registration statement rules.

SEC Suspends OTC Markets Issuers-Posted by Brenda Hamilton

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On January 9, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced the temporary suspension of trading in the securities of three penny stock issuers: Blacksands Petroleum, Inc. (BSPE), China Education Alliance, Inc. (CEAI), DoMark International, Inc. (DOMK), and… Read More

SEC Charges Operators of $1.2 Billion Ponzi Scheme Targeting Main Street Investors

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Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges and an asset freeze involving a Boca Raton Ponzi Scheme.  The SEC alleges that the operators  of the fund bilked thousands of retail investors, many of them seniors, in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. SEC… Read More

OTCQB Listing, Eligibility & Quotation – Going Public Lawyers

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Posted by Brenda Hamilton, Securities and Going Public Lawyer OTC Markets Group (“OTC Markets”) requires companies seeking quotation of their securities on the OTCQB® Venture Stage Marketplace (“OTCQB”) have an initial and ongoing $0.01 per share minimum bid… Read More

Calissio Resources – A Special Dividend by Any Other Name

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More than two years ago, we published the first in a series of articles about problems surrounding the declaration and payment of a special dividend by penny stock issuer, Calissio Resources Group, Inc. (CRGP).  We followed up with… Read More

Ibrahim Almagarby and Microcap Equity Group LLC Charged by SEC

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The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Ibrahim Almagarby and his company with acting as unregistered dealers in the sale of billions of shares of numerous penny stock issuers. The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in south… Read More

John Venditto and Oyster Bay Charged by SEC

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On November 21, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced Oyster Bay, New York, and its former top elected official with defrauding investors in the town’s municipal securities offerings by hiding the existence and potential financial impact… Read More

SEC Announces Agenda and Panelists for Small Business Forum

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On November 20, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced the agenda and panelists for the 36th Annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation. The November 30 Small Business event will begin at 9 a.m. Central… Read More

SEC Names Paul Cellupica as Deputy Director

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On November 20, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that Paul G. Cellupica has been named Deputy Director of the agency’s Division of Investment Management.  Mr. Cellupica will oversee a number of the division’s strategic, rulemaking,… Read More

Randall James Settles Fraud Charges

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On October 27, 2017, Randall James, Nashville, Tennessee resident, who isn’t registered to sell investments, has agreed to settle charges that he defrauded investors in his company Global Maximus Productions, which purportedly produced pay-per-view entertainment and concerts. The SEC… Read More

Osiris Therapeutics Charged With Accounting Fraud

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On November 2, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Osiris Therapeutics, a Maryland-based biotech company, and four former top executives with prioritizing revenue growth over lawful accounting and misleading investors in the process. The SEC alleges… Read More

SEC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action against Wynn Gustafson

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On October 31, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that the SEC filed an action to enforce compliance with a document subpoena issued and served upon Wynn Gustafson in an SEC investigation captioned In the Matter of… Read More

Thomas Buck Settles Charges

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On October 31, 2017, Thomas Buck, former Merrill Lynch broker, has agreed to pay more than $5 million to settle SEC charges that he fraudulently schemed to increase his personal income by obtaining excessive commissions and fees from… Read More

JustInfo LLC Charged for a Futures Trading Scheme

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On October 11, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced fraud charges against JustInfo LLC, a Kentucky-based entity, a California-based tax preparer who solicited investors on behalf of the entity, and the entity’s majority owner, for lying to… Read More

John Rogicki Charged with Stealing $9 Million

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On October 19, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged John Rogicki, a New York-based investment adviser, with defrauding a non-profit charitable foundation out of $9 million. The SEC alleges that John Rogicki, managing director and… Read More

Going Public Bootcamp – Securities Lawyer 101

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The going public process involves a number of steps that vary depending on the characteristics of the private company wishing to go public, and whether it will become a Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) reporting company.  A companies seeking public company… Read More