The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that TokenLot LLC, a self-described “ICO Superstore,” and its owners will settle charges that they acted as unregistered broker-dealers. This is the SEC’s first case charging unregistered broker-dealers for selling digital tokens after the SEC issued The DAO Report in 2017 cautioning that those who offer and…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission charged two brokers for recommending excessive levels of trading that were costly for retail customers but lucrative for the brokers. In separate complaints filed in federal court in Manhattan, the SEC alleges that Florida resident Emil Botvinnik and New York resident Jovannie Aquino recommended frequent, short-term t…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced that a whistleblower has earned an award of more than $1.5 million. The whistleblower provided the SEC with vital information and ongoing assistance that proved important to the overall success of an enforcement action. However, the SEC’s order notes that the award was reduced because the whistleblower did n…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission is awarding $39 million to one whistleblower and $15 million to another whose critical information and continued assistance helped the agency bring an important enforcement action. The $39 million award is the second-largest award in the history of the SEC’s whistleblower program. “Whistleblowers serve as invaluable so…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission charged two Michigan men with fraud for their roles in a fake accounts scheme perpetrated by a phony day-trading firm, Nonko Trading. The SEC alleges that Jeffrey Goldman of West Bloomfield, Michigan, and Christopher Eikenberry of Birmingham, Michigan, participated in and profited from a scheme to defraud Nonko’s custom…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled FCPA charges against New Jersey real estate broker Joohyun Bahn arising out of his attempt to bribe a foreign official while acting as a broker for Colliers International Group, Inc. According to the SEC’s order, Joohyun Bahn attempted to bribe a foreign official of a country in the Middle […]
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission charged telecommunications expense management company Tangoe Inc. for its use of fraudulent accounting practices that artificially boosted company revenues between 2013 and 2015. Four former members of the company’s senior management team were also charged for their roles in the alleged misconduct. As alleged in the co…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Texas-based investment fund Greenview Investment Partners L.P. and its founder Michael E. Cone with defrauding investors with false promises of massive returns in cannabis-related businesses. The SEC also issued an alert to warn retail investors about marijuana-related securities offerings. The SEC’s complain…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against a Buffalo, New York, investment advisory firm and its owner for misleading firm clients about its association with a barred investment adviser, who is also being charged for violating the bar. The SEC’s complaint alleges that in 2014, Walter Grenda sold his investment advisory assets, including his…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against 1 Global Capital LLC and its former chief executive officer for allegedly defrauding at least 3,400 retail investors, more than one-third of whom invested their retirement funds. The Florida-based cash advance company and former CEO Carl Ruderman allegedly fraudulently raised more than $287 mil…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission charged a professional football player and a former investment banker with insider trading in advance of corporate acquisitions facilitated through coded text messages and FaceTime conversations. The SEC alleges that after meeting at a party, Mychal Kendricks began receiving illegal tips from Damilare Sonoiki, an analys…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Moody’s Investors Service Inc., one of the nation’s largest credit ratings agencies, has agreed to pay a total of $16.25 million in penalties to settle charges involving internal control failures and failing to clearly define and consistently apply credit rating symbols. This marks the first time the SEC…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission obtained permanent officer-and-director and penny stock bars against the founder of a company who perpetrated a fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO) to fund oil exploration and drilling in California. According to the SEC’s order, David T. Laurance and Tomahawk Exploration LLC attempted to raise money through the sale…
Read MoreOn July 16, 2018 The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the former CEO of Energy XXI Ltd. John Schiller with hiding more than $10 million in personal loans that he obtained from company vendors and a candidate for Energy XXI’s board. At the time of the alleged misconduct, Energy XXI was NASDAQ-listed and one of […]
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Aug. 6, 2018 that it has updated its list of unregistered firms that use misleading information to primarily solicit non-U.S. investors, adding 16 soliciting entities, four impersonators of genuine firms, and nine bogus regulators. The updates by the SEC Division of Enforcement’s Office of Market Int…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission today charged five individuals and four companies for unlawfully selling securities of Woodbridge Group of Companies LLC to retail investors. Woodbridge collapsed into bankruptcy in December 2017 and the SEC previously charged the company, its owner, and others with operating a massive $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. The Fl…
Read MoreOn July 23, 2018 The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Mizuho Securities USA LLC for its failure to safeguard information pertaining to stock buybacks by its issuer customers. Mizuho failed to maintain and enforce policies and procedures aimed at preventing the misuse of material nonpublic information, including maintaining effective information ba…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has voted to adopt amendments to certain disclosure requirements that have become duplicative, overlapping, or outdated in light of other Commission disclosure requirements, U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), or changes in the information environment. The amendments are intended to…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. will pay $4.5 million to settle charges that it failed to safeguard retail investor assets from theft by its representatives. According to the SEC’s order, five Ameriprise representatives committed numerous fraudulent acts, including forging client documents, and stole…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to enhance transparency in the municipal securities market. The adopted amendments to Rule 15c2-12 of the Securities Exchange Act will focus on material financial obligations that could impact an issuer’s liquidity, overall creditworthiness, or an existing security holder’s rights. “Our municipal secu…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith has agreed to pay approximately $8.9 million to settle charges that it failed to disclose a conflict of interest arising out of its own business interests in deciding whether to continue to offer clients products managed by an outside third-party advisory firm. …
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission charged the founder of San Francisco-based venture capital funds and his investment advisory firm with overcharging investors to fund personal projects, including sending millions of dollars to his own virtual reality production company. The SEC’s complaint alleges that Michael B. Rothenberg, 34, marketed his advisory f…
Read MoreSecurities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton announced that an additional investor roundtable to discuss the Commission’s recently proposed rules regarding the obligations of financial professionals to investors will be held in Baltimore on the evening of Sept. 20, 2018. Commissioners Kara Stein and Robert Jackson are expected to join Chairman Cl…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges with two former top officers of Endurance International Group Holdings Inc. for overstating the company’s subscriber base, and charged a former executive of Constant Contact Inc. for making similar misrepresentations. The SEC’s orders find that Endurance’s former chief executive Hari Ravichand…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Barry D. Miller, Associate Director of Disclosure Review and Accounting in the Division of Investment Management, will retire from the SEC at the end of this month after more than 40 years of public service, including more than 30 years of service at the SEC. As an associate […]
Read MoreOn July 13, 2018 The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a stock promoter and four others involved in an alleged series of microcap fraud schemes that were foiled by FBI undercover work and an SEC trading suspension. According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in southern California on July 6, stock promoter Gannon […]
Read MoreOn July 11, 2018 The Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges against a second defendant in connection with a scheme to manipulate the price of Fitbit securities through false regulatory filings. According to the SEC’s complaint, Mark E. Burns purchased Fitbit call options just minutes before he and his co-conspirator, Robert W. Murray, f…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced on July 5, 2018 that Credit Suisse Group AG will pay approximately $30 million to resolve SEC charges that it obtained investment banking business in the Asia-Pacific region by corruptly influencing foreign officials in violation of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Credit Suisse also agreed to pay a $47 m…
Read MoreOn July 2, 2018 The Securities and Exchange Commission charged global engineering and construction company KBR Inc. with inflating a key, non-financial statement performance metric known as work in backlog. KBR agreed to pay a $2.5 million penalty to settle the SEC’s charges. According to the SEC’s order, KBR’s public disclosures of its work in “backlog” we…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced on July 17, 2018 that New York-based broker-dealer BGC Financial has agreed to pay a $1.25 million penalty to settle charges that it failed to preserve audio files sought by the SEC and inaccurately recorded travel, entertainment, and other expenses. The SEC’s order finds that after receiving document requests…
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