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Jarkesy Limits Power of the SEC to Rely on In-House Adjudicators When Pursuing Penalties for Fraud

The U.S. Supreme Court limited the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to enforce civil penalties via in-house tribunals in its decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, released on June 27, 2024. In its decision,...more

Supreme Court Decides SEC v. Jarkesy

On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court decided SEC v. Jarkesy, No. No. 22-859, holding that the Seventh Amendment entitles a defendant to a jury trial when the Securities and Exchange Commission seeks civil penalties for...more

SEC Examinations 2022 Priorities: Reg BI, ESG, Private Funds, Information Security & Operational Resiliency, and Crypto

The SEC Division of Examinations recently released its 2022 Division of Examinations “Priorities.” The 2022 Priorities provide critical insight into what the Division of Examinations (the “Division”) considers the most...more

FINRA Wades into the Controversial Deep-End of CCO Supervisory Liability

The lack of specific guidance regarding failure to supervise liability for chief compliance officers (“CCOs”) has been a controversial and opaque topic that both FINRA and the SEC have struggled with for well over a decade....more

SEC Charges Texas School District and Former CFO with Fraud Related to Bond

On March 16, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Crosby (Texas) Independent School District (Crosby) and its former Chief Financial Officer, Carla Merka, with misleading investors in a $20 million municipal...more

BlockFi to Pay $100 Million Over Crypto Lending Platform

On February 14, 2022, the SEC announced charges against BlockFi Lending LLC – a New Jersey-based cryptocurrency lending platform – for failing to register its crypto lending product and violating the Investment Company Act of...more

The SEC’s Renewed Focus on Accounting Misconduct

Two recent enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including a recent settled action against Kraft Heinz Co. (“Kraft”), underscore the agency’s renewed and continuing focus on accounting and...more

SPAC Attack: The SEC Charges a SPAC for Failure to Launch

On July 13, 2021, the SEC announced charges against Stable Road Acquisition Company (“Stable Road”), its sponsor, SRC-NI, its CEO, Brian Kabot, Stable Road’s proposed merger target Momentus Inc.(“Momentus”), and Momentus’s...more

Colorado Privacy Act: The Patchwork of State Privacy Regimes Grows

With Colorado Governor Jared Polis expected to sign the Colorado Privacy Act, SB-190 into law in the coming days, Colorado will join California and Virginia as the third state with a comprehensive data privacy law.1 The...more

SEC Chairman, Gary Gensler, Seeks to “Freshen Up” Restrictions on Executive Stock Trading Plans under Rule 10b5-1

Upcoming Changes to Rule 10b5-1: The SEC is seeking to propose four key changes to executive stock trading plans under Rule 10b5-1 in October. Its Chairman, Gary Gensler, reported that the SEC is considering “freshen[ing]...more

Chair Gensler Appoints NJ AG SEC Enforcement Director

On Tuesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that Gurbir Grewal will be the Director of the Division of Enforcement, effective July 26, 2021. Grewal has been the Attorney General of New Jersey...more

SEC “Sweep” of Public Companies’ & Registrants’ Responses to the SolarWinds Cyberbreach

As publicly reported late last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement (SEC) sent voluntary requests for information to a range of public companies and investment firms seeking voluntary...more

Chair Gensler Overhauls PCAOB

On Friday June 4, 2021, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler removed the head of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), an independent agency created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that is...more

NYC Bar Association Proposes a CCO Enforcement Framework

Responding to a “concern” from Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) to the purported increase in enforcement actions holding compliance personnel personally liable, the New York City Bar Association recently released a framework...more

SEC Pierces Under Armour With Accounting Misstatement Settlement

On May 3, 2021, the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges against Under Armour Inc. (“Under Armour”) for “misleading investors as to the bases of its revenue growth and failing to disclose known...more

Comings & Goings at the SEC: Chair Gensler’s New Enforcement Director

On April 22, 2021, Ms. Alex Oh was named the new Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Enforcement. Ms. Oh was most recently a partner in private practice where she served as co-chair of...more

SPAC Attack! SPAC IPOs Are Booming

We have all seen the daily stories about SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies) and their attack on the IPO and M&A markets over the last 15 months. For context, the number of SPAC initial public offerings (IPOs) has...more

Speech by New Commissioner Provides Insight into Biden Administration SEC

As we await the impact of the Biden Administration on the direction of the SEC, we have been given a glimpse of what is to come in a speech last month by the newly confirmed commissioner, Caroline Crenshaw. Specifically,...more

New SEC Enforcement Task Force Targets Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues

As political leaders continue to debate how to address climate change, the SEC is poised to take (enforcement) action. In the latest example of how the Biden Administration is influencing the priorities the SEC, the agency...more

SEC Exams for 2021 to Focus on Climate and ESG, Reg BI, Crypto, & More

The Division of Examination’s (former OCIE) annual announcement of its exam priorities is always noteworthy, as it provides helpful insight into this division’s thinking and can serve as a roadmap for regulated entities to...more

SEC Enforcement Restores Subpoena Power

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has restored the authority of senior Division of Enforcement (Enforcement) officials to initiate investigations, which had been revoked during the Trump administration. On...more

President Biden Announces Gary Gensler as SEC Chair Nominee

On January 18, 2021, the incoming President’s Transition Team announced additional key administration post nominees, including Mr. Gary Gensler as SEC Chair. The announcement specifically provided the following regarding Mr....more

$125 Million Deutsche Bank Settlement with SEC/DOJ Newest in Line of Several Costly Resolutions

On January 8, 2021, the SEC issued a cease-and-desist order, Release No., 90875 (available here), formally resolving proceedings against Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank agreed to pay over $125 million as part of a global...more

The $180 Million Chinese Coffee Case for Attempting to Manage Earnings

Last week, on December 16, 2020, Chinese-based coffee chain Luckin Coffee Inc. (“Luckin”) agreed to a $180 million settlement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Luckin’s American Depositary...more

The Pandemic Has Caused the Number of SEC Enforcement Actions to Decline Sharply in FY 2020

The SEC’s Division of Enforcement issued its annual report on November 2, 2020. According to the report, fiscal year 2020 saw the SEC file a total of 715 enforcement actions, representing a whopping 17% drop from the 862...more

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