As news stories about AI have surged, so have enforcement actions by the SEC alleging fraudulent statements about AI capabilities....more
11/8/2024
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cease and Desist ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Offerings ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Prejudgment Interest ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Last week, the SEC announced settled charges against 23 companies and individuals for failing to timely file Section 16 reports on Forms 3, 4 or 5.
Additionally, two public companies were charged for contributing to late...more
10/4/2024
/ Analytics ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Neither Admit Nor Deny Settlements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Required Forms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Penalties
In the UK, it has not historically been part of the fabric of our legal and regulatory system to pay whistleblowers who provide evidence to authorities who are investigating potential breaches of law or regulation....more
9/10/2024
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
HMRC ,
Pilot Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Historically, successful white-collar prosecutions often turn on the government’s ability to identify “insiders” with firsthand knowledge of the alleged criminal scheme, who opt to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for...more
8/7/2024
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FinCEN ,
Pilot Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Self-Reporting ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On December 14, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an award of more than $300,000 to a whistleblower who uncovered potential securities law violations in connection with audit-related responsibilities. The...more
For the first time since its initial publication in 2012, the DOJ and SEC released an update to their 130-page guidance manual on the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). While not as highly anticipated as the first...more
Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court decision this week affirming the SEC’s right to seek disgorgement, displayed a striking consensus on the securities regulatory agency’s ability to seek...more
6/26/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
We understand that several issuers and regulated entities that publicly disclosed their receipt of funds from the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a reminder that when the business world returns to standard operations, enforcement actions will have a stinging bite. On April 16th the Commission announced that it will...more
In September 1998, U.S. SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt gave a speech called, “The Numbers Game” in which he expressed his “fear that we are witnessing an erosion in the quality of earnings, and therefore, the quality of financial...more
In a closely followed case, on February 26, 2020, a District Court Judge in Connecticut granted Lawrence Hoskins’ motion for acquittal on the seven FCPA counts on which the jury convicted him. Hoskins was a UK citizen who...more
2/28/2020
/ Acquittals ,
Agency Relationship ,
Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Indictments ,
Jurisdiction ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subsidiaries
Multiple news items published over the past six weeks (including as recently as January 30, 2020) have focused on public companies’ correction of accounting errors by revising their financial statements, rather than doing so...more
The SEC’s most recent whistleblower awards highlight the importance of internal reporting to a company’s compliance program and especially how a company investigates and responds to such reports. On May 24, 2019, the SEC...more
On November 15, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released its annual report to Congress (“Report”) on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program (the “Program”), under which eligible whistleblowers may receive...more
On July 5, 2018, the SEC and the Department of Justice announced that Credit Suisse Group AG, has agreed to pay nearly $76 million to settle charges that its Hong Kong-based subsidiary, Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Limited,...more
Anti-Corruption enforcement is a top priority in France, the UK, and the US. Each of these countries has armed its enforcers with the enforcement tools necessary to investigate and prosecute corporations and individuals. Join...more
4/19/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
CJIP ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
France ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
OECD ,
Sapin II ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act ,
White Collar Crimes
Today the Supreme Court held that an individual must report alleged wrongdoing to the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to qualify for protection from whistleblower retaliation under the Dodd-Frank Act.
While...more
In the course of one week, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced awards to three whistleblowers totaling more than $20 million under the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program.
On November 30, the SEC...more
Stock traders who thought they could trade freely on gifts of inside information so long as the givers were not their close friends should rethink their strategy. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit this week...more
We often are asked how the U.S. government finds out about potential Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations. Internal company whistleblowers are perhaps the main source....more
On July 25, 2017, the SEC announced another whistleblower award – this one for almost $2.5 million. What sets this award apart from earlier awards is its recipient – “an employee of a domestic government agency.” The Order...more
On the last day of its current session, the Supreme Court announced it will consider whether the Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections extend to corporate insiders who blow the whistle on their employers by reporting the...more
A five-year statute of limitations applies to actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission for disgorgement, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today. The decision imposes a significant new limit on the SEC’s ability to seek...more
In the past two weeks, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced the first two awards it has granted to whistleblowers under the Trump administration.
On April 25, 2017, the SEC announced an award of...more
If your company engages in international sales of products or services, there is a risk that your employees or representatives may take actions that run afoul of the FCPA. In recent years, DOJ and the SEC have stepped up...more