On Monday, May 6, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with securities fraud "for its misleading public statements when its financial condition was deteriorating and financial information available to municipal bond investors was either incomplete or outdated."

According to an SEC press release, "it marks the first time that the SEC has charged a municipality for misleading statements made outside of its securities disclosure documents." Harrisburg has agreed to settle the charges.

The press release, which includes links to the order and the report of investigation, can be found here.

Holland & Knight can provide details regarding the SEC’s fraud charges and discuss potential implications for issuers and underwriters of municipal bonds.