Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On August 26, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged John K. Marcum with defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme that targeted the retirement savings of investors.The SEC alleges that Marcum told investors he was a… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On August 7, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) released a report identifying threats to the stability of the financial markets. DTCC considers cyber-attacks that can bypass U.S. and E.U. industry security systems and laws to be the most significant… Read More
Q. How Much Money Can I Raise In A Rule 504 Offering? A. The aggregate amount raised for an offering of securities under Rule 504 cannot exceed $1,000,000, less the aggregate offering price for all securities sold within… Read More
Securities Law Blog A private company seeking to go public can obtain a stock ticker or trading symbol assignment from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) if it meets certain requirements. This enables the company to be quoted… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order to stop an initial public offering (IPO) by Counseling International and prevent the sale of its shares to the investing public. In issuing the stop order, the SEC determined… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On June 24, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) instituted administrative proceedings to prevent corporate hijackings. The SEC revoked the registration of Green Solutions China, Inc., Yarraman Winery, Inc. (n/k/a Global Beverages, Inc.;… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Manhattan District Attorney’s office has indicted Sean Robert Stropp , a/k/a “John Goldman,” a/k/a “Sean Roberts,” Karl Spicer and Ricardo Garcia, for operating a precious metals scam through a company known as PMCO Services Inc. that claimed to sell precious metals. The… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On August 19, 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation circulated a new Wanted by the FBI poster to announce that Sandy Winick, indicted the week before on multiple counts of stock manipulation, wire fraud,… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On August 19, 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation circulated a new Wanted by the FBI poster to announce that Sandy Winick, indicted the week before on multiple counts of stock manipulation, wire fraud, and… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On August 13, 2013, John Jordan, former chief executive of Vida Life International Ltd., a public company that trades on the OTCMarkets OTCQB as VILF, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On August 14, 2013, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced that six individuals had been charged as a consequence of penny stock sting operations conducted over the course of… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On August 13, 2013, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced the indictment of Sandy Winick, a Canadian promoter now living in Thailand; Gregory Curry, a Canadian living in Thailand;… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog FINRA’s Warning On August 6, 2013, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) issued an alert warning investors that fraudsters pretending to work for at least one well-known brokerage were making cold calls in which… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On August 9, 2013, the SEC‘s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a Risk Alert concerning certain trading activity being used to circumvent Regulation SHO’s close-out requirements for short sales. The SEC observed that some… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Corporate hijackings, also known as corporate identity theft, of public shell companies have been a problem for more than a decade. Hijackings are increasingly used by fraudsters to acquire control of publicly traded shell… Read More
On August 6, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) obtained an emergency court order to halt a hedge fund investment scheme targeting mostly unsophisticated investors including friends, family members, and military personnel to invest in his hedge… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On July 15, 2013, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced that a grand jury had indicted Robert Zickefoose on seven counts of securities fraud. Zickefoose is the owner and president of Zickefoose Reserves, LLC,… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On August 5, 2013, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that it had fined Oppenheimer and Co., Inc. $1,425,000 for allowing the sale of unregistered stock of penny companies, and for its failure to… Read More
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) is investigating Trading Algorithms and whether trading firms that engage in high frequency trading have proper controls in place to ensure their trading algorithms do not malfunction and cause harm to public markets. The regulator… Read More
On July 31, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced the adoption of amendments to the net capital, customer protection, books and records, and notification rules for broker-dealers. The amendments to the broker-dealer financial responsibility rules are designed to… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On July 31, 20113, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced the adoption of rules created to increase safeguards for investor assets held at broker-dealers registered with the SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). According to the… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Consumer watchdogs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as well are aware that certain provisions of the new Rule 506 created in connection with the JOBS Act could encourage fraud if not effectively… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On July 26, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged Stephen B. Gray, an investor relations provider with insider trading in the securities of his firm’s clients. The SEC action alleges that Gray obtained confidential information… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On July 23, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) settled charges against Florida resident Jorge Bravo, Jr., for unlawful sales of millions of shares of unregistered securities without complying with the registration statement… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On July 15, 2013, Patrick Kiley was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $155 million in restitution in connection with his conviction on 15 criminal counts including mail and wire fraud, conspiracy… Read More
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On July 17, 2013, Richard Kranitz, a Wisconsin securities attorney was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Wednesday for his role in a securities fraud involving an FBI Sting operation. Kranitz was also sentenced… Read More
SEC issued a trading suspension of Camelot Entertainment Group, Inc. (CMGR), Cavico Corp. (CAVO), Global 8 Environmental Technologies, Inc. (GBLE), GTC Telecom Corp. (GTCC), ICF Corporation (ICFO) and New NRG, Inc. (NNRG) due to a lack of current and accurate information. The suspended issuers failed to file required periodic reports with the SEC. The SEC entered the temporary trading suspension order was pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act).
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On July 10, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or “Commission”) adopted amendments to rules promulgated under Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) to
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog No company wants to become the target of a Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) investigation, and no investor welcomes an inquiry into a stock he holds. Issuers and shareholders alike need to understand how… Read More
