The Nutter Securities Enforcement Update is a periodic summary of noteworthy recent securities enforcement activity, settlements, decisions, and charges....more
Patisserie Valerie is a British patisserie and café chain. In 2018, the company found itself at the centre of an alleged accounting scandal. In 2019, Patisserie Valerie announced that its board had been notified of accounting...more
This article is the first of a series on accounting fraud which follows our July and September webinars on “How to Commit Accounting Fraud: Why this can ultimately lead to corporate collapse.”...more
An amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (the Bill) has brought in the offense of failure to prevent fraud (Offense). Under the new Offense, an organization will be liable where a specified fraud...more
In order to provide an overview for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important SEC enforcement developments from the past month, with links to primary resources...more
Buyers’ best defence against M&A fraud requires rigorous, pre-closing due diligence — when fraud is suspected, deal teams should seek legal advice and proceed with caution. Recent high-profile fraud cases gravely...more
At least as far back as the Enron scandal and subsequent enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley, accountants and auditors have been viewed as uniquely positioned to serve a crucial watchdog role. Among their many functions, they...more
Last week, I paid tribute to Greg Lake. It turned out that the first full week of December was the final week for several important, if not seminal, figures. So this week I will pay homage to those who have left us, today I...more
Two executives were charged last week with criminal violations in the Southern District of New York relating to Valeant Pharmaceuticals activities. These charges are the first of more to come in an ongoing investigation...more
Having started as a bookkeeper and worked his way (fifteen years later) to become controller of the Bunz in the Oven family owned business, Swendoll Hugh felt underpaid and under-appreciated by Bertha Bunz and her highly...more
Financial fraud can destroy shareholder value and seriously damage the reputations of organisations. What will 2016 hold when it comes to trends in financial fraud?...more
The Commission filed a series of actions this week which included: three cases based on insider trading; an accounting action against a company and its employees; an audit failure; the unregistered sale of securities; and the...more
Financial fraud actions have traditionally been a staple of SEC Enforcement. During the market crisis, however, the number of those cases waned. Following the formation of a task force focused on financial statement fraud,...more
Accounting and financial fraud cases are an SEC priority. The cases, however, are being brought by the private bar as class actions. The number of accounting class actions filed last year increased by 47% compared to the...more
“I would describe the time period we are living through as an era of creative and aggressive enforcement by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),” said Latham & Watkins partner John Sikora. “The SEC has set a...more
Ten years ago, Sarbanes-Oxley was the focus of compliance and corporate governance reform. Sarbanes-Oxley was enacted in response to major corporate scandals involving financial reporting fraud and accounting...more
In several recent public speeches, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced a renewed focus on financial reporting and accounting fraud, vowing to devote substantial resources to enforcement activities in...more
On October 10, a Florida federal judge granted the Securities and Exchange Commission’s motions for partial summary judgment against BankAtlantic (now BBX Capital Corp.) and its former CEO and chairman Alan Levan, finding...more
It is almost a government rite of passage – when a new leader takes the reins, the chessboard has to be reorganized to reflect the new leader’s “new priorities.” When it comes to the SEC, and the new Chairwoman Mary Jo...more