Federal regulators have cracked down on the use of texts messages and messaging platforms for business communications, using their broad authority to root out record retention violations, resulting in significant fines and...more
10/20/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Email ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FERC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fines ,
Insider Trading ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mobile Devices ,
Multi-Factor Authentication ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Record Retention ,
Regular Business Communications ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Software ,
Text Messages
On June 22, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Liu v. SEC further limiting the SEC’s remedial powers. While the Court affirmed the SEC’s ability to obtain disgorgement for violations of...more
6/25/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On May 4, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton and Rebecca Olsen, Director of the SEC’s Office of Municipal Securities, issued a statement entitled “The Importance of Disclosure for our Municipal Markets”1...more
On August 20, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced it adopted amendments to Rule 15c2-12 of the Securities Exchange Act (“Rule 15c2-12”). Rule 15c2-12 requires brokers, dealers, and municipal...more
On June 29, 2018 Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden of the Southern District of Mississippi entered judgments against Malachi Financial Products, Inc., and its president and sole shareholder, Porter B. Bingham, for alleged...more
7/12/2018
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
False Billing ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Public Finance ,
Registration ,
Rule G-17 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations
On May 9, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced it charged a registered municipal advisor (the "MA Firm") and its owner (the "MA Owner") with defrauding their client, a Texas school district, in...more
5/14/2018
/ Breach of Duty ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Rule G-17 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
On March 1, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (“Court”) charging Leonard Genova, town attorney and deputy supervisor for...more
3/7/2018
/ Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FBI ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Municipal Securities Market ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Section 17(a) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement Agreements
On February 15, 2018, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) published Notice 2018-03, requesting comment on draft frequently asked questions and proposed responses (“FAQs”). The draft FAQs address duties of...more
On February 7, 2018, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published its 2018 examination priorities. OCIE’s examination priorities are...more
2/13/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Qualification Standards ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC charged registered municipal advisor Malachi Financial Products, Inc. and its principal Porter B. Bingham with violations of Sections 15B(a)(5) and 15B(c)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and...more
1/8/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Breach of Duty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Registration ,
Rule G-17 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations
On December 1, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois charging David Webb, Jr. (“Webb”), mayor of Markham, Illinois from...more
12/6/2017
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Bribery ,
Construction Contracts ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Section 17(a) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud
On November 21, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint charging Oyster Bay, New York (the “Town”), along with its former Supervisor and Chief Executive Officer, John Venditto, with...more
11/27/2017
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
False Statements ,
Indictments ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Section 17(a) ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Wire Fraud
On November 7, 2017, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a risk alert that described the staff’s observations from over 110 examinations...more
On September 12, 2016, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) began offering the Municipal Advisor Representative Qualification Examination (the “Series 50 Exam”). Municipal advisor professionals must pass the...more
On January 17, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated in part a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) order that imposed a collateral bar against Gregory Bartko, the former CEO and chief compliance...more
2/28/2017
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CEOs ,
Collateral Bars ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Mail Fraud ,
Retroactive Application ,
Sanction Suspensions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Vacated
On June 13, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accepted the settlement offers made by two firms and three executives charged with using deceptive business practices in dealing with five school districts. As...more
7/22/2016
/ Bids ,
Cease and Desist ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Confidential Information ,
Corporate Executives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injunctive Relief ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Rule G-17 ,
School Districts ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Settlement Offer ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On January 28, 2015, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan entered a final judgment against Gary Burtka, the former mayor of Allen Park, Michigan, upholding the Security and Exchange Commission...more
In an unprecedented exercise of its authority to charge municipal officials with “control person” liability, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced fraud charges against the City of Allen Park,...more
Rule G-44, proposed earlier this year by the Municipal Securities Regulation Board (MSRB) and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this month, requires that municipal advisors develop internal supervisory...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced modifications to the terms of its Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative. In a press release issued late in the afternoon July 31, 2014, the SEC...more
On July 8, 2014, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has entered into a settlement order with Kings Canyon Joint Unified School District (Kings Canyon)—the first settlement with an issuer under the...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit yesterday vacated a closely-watched 2011 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff rejecting a $285 million fraud settlement between Citigroup Inc. and the U.S....more
6/5/2014
/ Chevron Deference ,
Citigroup ,
Collateralized Debt Obligations ,
Consent Decrees ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Judge Rakoff ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
SEC v Citigroup ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement
On March 10, 2014, the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative (MCDC) – an offer for municipal issuers and their...more
On July 29, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had charged an Indiana school district and its underwriter with securities fraud for falsely stating in a 2007 offering document that the issuer was...more