Posted by Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On July 16, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced SEC charges against James E. Cohen and Joseph Corazzi who secretly controlled Natural Blue Resources including the operational and management decisions of the company while calling themselves outside “consultants.”
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On June 25, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced fraud charges against three former senior managers of Regions Bank for intentionally misclassifying loans that should have been recorded as impaired for accounting purposes. As a result, the bank’s publicly-traded holding company overstated…
Read MoreOn June 12, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged a securities attorney and founder of an investment advisory firm located in suburban Chicago with defrauding investors in connection with a real estate venture for which his firm offered securities. After an SEC examination of Kenilworth Asset Management LLC detected…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On May 5, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged a Toronto-based consultant and four associates with conducting illegal reverse mergers with China-based companies to engage in pump and dump schemes. The SEC alleges that S. Paul Kelley and three associates acquired controlling interests in two…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog This week the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced a whistleblower award of more than $875,000 to be split evenly between two individuals who provided tips and assistance to help the agency bring an enforcement action. The SEC’s Whistleblower Program authorized by the Dodd-Frank Act rewards high-qua…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On May 28, 2014, the SEC announced fraud charges and an emergency asset freeze against IST Shareholder Services, a transfer agent and its owner, Robert Pearson whose misappropriation scheme was discovered during an SEC examination.
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On May 24, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the latest in a series of cases against microcap companies, officers, and promoters arising out of a joint law enforcement investigation to unearth penny stock schemes with roots in South Florida. In complaints filed in federal court in Miami, the SEC charged [&helli…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On May 19, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges against four former officials at clearing firm Penson Financial Services for their roles in Regulation SHO violations. An SEC investigation found that Penson’s securities lending practices intentionally and systematically violated Rule 204 under Reg…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On May 7, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced the temporary suspension, pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), of trading of the securities of Cannabusiness Group, Inc. (“CBGI”), of Irvine, California at 9:30 a.m. EDT on May 7, 2014, and terminating…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On May 5, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Toronto-based consultant and four associates with conducting illegal reverse merger schemes to bring a pair of China-based companies into the U.S. markets so they could manipulate trading and reap millions of dollars in illicit profits. Reverse mergers are commonly us…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On May 2, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Florida lawyer Allen Ross Smith with fraud in connection with his role in in an advance fee investment scam run by the Switzerland-based Malom Group AG.
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has filed securities fraud charges against Barry Bekkedam of Hobe Sound, Florida. Bekkedam is the former owner, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Ballamor Capital Management, LLC (“Ballamor”), a formerly SEC-registered investment adviser located in Radnor, Pennsylvania. The SEC’s complain…
Read MoreOn April 23, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission(“SEC”) filed insider trading charges against a former accounting manager at Nvidia Corp. who tipped a friend with confidential company information that set in motion a chain of tipping and illegal trading among a network of hedge fund traders who reaped millions of dollars in illicit gains…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 23, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed fraud charges against a former Florida-based stock promoter currently serving a two-year prison sentence for lying to SEC investigators. The SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida alleges that Robert Vital…
Read MoreBrenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney On April 21, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged a former biopharmaceutical company executive and two others with insider trading on confidential information about the company’s key developmental drug. The company’s stock price fell sharply when it announced clinical trial results…
Read MoreOn April 17, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged a former employee of BP p.l.c. and a senior responder during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill with insider trading in BP securities based on confidential information about the magnitude of the disaster. The price of BP securities fell significantly after the April 20, […]
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 8, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced enforcement actions against two leaders at a Las Vegas-based transfer agent firm who were responsible for disclosure failures in registration forms filed with the SEC. Empire Stock Transfer Inc. and the two individuals agreed to settle the SEC’s charges. Publicly tr…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 4, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Joseph Holmdel and others, including a New Jersey based brokerage firm, with manipulative trading of publicly traded stocks through an illegal practice known as “layering” or “spoofing.” The SEC also charged the owner and others for registration violations. Two firms…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On March 28, 2014, the FBI announced that John Silvia, 55, purportedly the “managing member” of Richardson Consulting LLC, was charged with securities, mail, and wire fraud. He was arrested on February 7, 2014.
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog After the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Enforcement staff has completed its investigation, it may send a notice (“Wells Notice”) to the party being investigated notifying them that it intends to recommend an SEC enforcement action. Under SEC Rules, in response to a Wel…
Read MoreOn March 11 ,2014, the Department of Justice announced that Robert Kelly, the chief executive officer of Wwebnet, Inc. (“Wwebnet”), a software development company, pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to securities and wire fraud charges. According to the charges, Kelly diverted for his own personal use more than $2 million in investor pr…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On March 4, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)announced the temporary suspension, pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), of trading in the securities of Global Earth Energy, Inc. (“Global Earth”), a Nevada corporation commencing at 9:30 a.m. on March 7, 2…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On March 6, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announces charges against five executives at Dewey & LeBoeuf,and finance professionals. They are are accused of facilitating a $150 million fraudulent bond offering by Dewey & LeBoeuf, the international law firm where they worked. The SEC alleges t…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On March 5, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an emergency enforcement action to stop a fraudulent pyramid scheme by phony companies masquerading as a legitimate international investment firm. The SEC has obtained a federal court order to freeze accounts holding money stolen from U.S. investors by Flee…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog DTC Chills and global locks continue to be a growing problem for small companies. The Depository Trust and Clear Corporation (“DTCC”), through its subsidiaries, provides clearing, settlement and information services for securities. DTCC’s subsidiary, the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) was created to improve efficiencies and redu…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On February 26, 2014, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that a federal jury convicted Richard Altomare, 65, of Palm Beach County, on four counts of an indictment, including one count of mail fraud and three counts […]
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On February 25, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced SEC charges against an Arizona-based private equity fund manager and his investment advisory firm for orchestrating a scheme to misallocate their expenses to the funds they manage.
Read MorePump and dump schemes, false financial statements, Ponzi schemes and other types of white collar crimes cost investors billions of dollars each year. Forensic Attorneys are private attorneys who investigate these types of white collar crime. White collar crimes are often facilitated through offshore banks and financial institutions. These types of practice…
Read MoreAs a forensic attorney, Brenda Hamilton has analyzed a variety of matters including money laundering, white collar crime, securities trading and short sales. Since its inception, the forensic attorneys at Hamilton & Associates Law Group, P.A. and its founding Securities Lawyer, Brenda Hamilton have assisted clients with forensic matters. The firm’s SEC l…
Read MoreWhile going public offers many benefits it also comes with risks and quantities of regulations with which issuers must become familiar. Despite the risks, the U.S. capital markets remain one of the most attractive sources of financing in the world. Going public is a complicated & intricate procedure, and it is important to have experienced going [&helli…
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