Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•An SEC action alleging an insider trading scheme and...more
4/23/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Private Funds ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
To issue a subpoena for documents or testimony, Enforcement staff must first obtain a formal order. A formal order authorizes SEC staff “to administer oaths and affirmations, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, take...more
On January 17, 2025, a few days before the presidential inauguration, the SEC reported a record-breaking first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (October through December 2024) with 200 total enforcement actions, including 118...more
2/27/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblowers
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•Insider trading charges against a professor overseeing...more
1/28/2025
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Perks ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced his imminent departure in January 2025...more
12/23/2024
/ American Depository Receipts (ADRs) ,
Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Bribery ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Gambling ,
Green Energy ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investors ,
Japan ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Misleading Statements ,
Renewable Energy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•Accounting fraud charges for allegedly concealing costs;...more
11/29/2024
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Aerospace ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bribery ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
ETFs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Greenwashing ,
Misleading Statements ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Brokers
Given the recent news about President-Elect Trump’s cabinet appointments , it is a safe bet that the SEC Division of Enforcement’s priorities will change under the new administration. Under President Biden, SEC Chair Gary...more
11/15/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Board of Governors ,
Corner Post Inc v Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Insider Trading ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Buybacks ,
Trump Administration
On October 21, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Division of Examinations (“EXAMS”) announced its 2025 Examination Priorities (the “2025 Priorities”), highlighting areas that it expects to target...more
11/4/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Investment Adviser ,
Popular ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Regulation S-P ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month included the SEC’s fiscal year end and a large number of enforcement...more
10/25/2024
/ Bribery ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Media ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Form 10-K ,
John Deere ,
MNPI ,
Political Corruption ,
Regulation FD ,
Scams ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•The SEC’s case against crypto firm Kraken is permitted to...more
9/25/2024
/ Collateralized Loan Obligations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Contract ,
MNPI ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Securities
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•Judge Paul Engelmayer’s decision on defendants’ motion to...more
8/22/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hedge Funds ,
Illegal Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Firms ,
Online Platforms ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SolarWinds
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•The Supreme Court’s Jarkesy decision and its impact on the...more
7/16/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Glass Lewis ,
Insider Trading ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Tokens ,
Seventh Amendment
On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court decided in SEC v. Jarkesy that where the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brings enforcement actions for civil penalties, it must do so in the federal courts, as opposed to before...more
7/1/2024
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Jury Trial ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Separation of Powers ,
Seventh Amendment
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•The permanent suspension of an audit firm and its owner for...more
6/28/2024
/ CEOs ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Loans ,
PCAOB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stock Prices ,
Taxable Income
On June 21, 2024, a jury in California federal court found a former chief executive officer of a publicly traded healthcare company guilty of insider trading in United States v. Peizer, the first criminal insider-trading case...more
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•The SEC’s first “Shadow Trading” trial;
•SCOTUS’s...more
5/21/2024
/ Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Privacy ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Macquarie Infrastructure Corp v Moab Partners LP ,
Marketing ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Public Information ,
Omissions ,
Regulation S-K ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Stays
Each month we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•The Fifth Circuit’s stay of the SEC’s recent adoption of...more
4/24/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Climate Change ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptoassets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Misleading Statements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stays ,
Unregistered Brokers
Each month we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•The SEC’s expanded definition of securities dealers; -
•An...more
3/26/2024
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Amendments ,
Private Funds ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Traders
On March 18, 2024, the SEC announced—in videos posted on YouTube and Twitter—regulatory actions against two investment advisers for “AI washing,” a practice defined by the SEC as “making false artificial intelligence-related...more
3/21/2024
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
NASAA ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFMA
Each month we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•The SEC’s approval of spot bitcoin ETPs; -
•SEC charges...more
2/27/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
PCAOB ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On January 9, a hacker posted from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) official X account. The post announced that the SEC had officially approved exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to hold spot bitcoin. Within 30...more
To provide an overview for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important and interesting SEC enforcement developments from the past month, with links to primary resources....more
1/18/2024
/ Coinbase ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
ICFR ,
Repurchases ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stock Repurchases ,
Unregistered Securities
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
• The SEC’s announcement of its Fiscal Year 2023 enforcement...more
12/18/2023
/ Charter Communications ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hackers ,
Internal Controls ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Regulation ,
Share Buybacks ,
Whistleblowers
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month we examine:
• Fraud and internal control failure charges against...more
11/20/2023
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Best Practices ,
Blockchain ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinTech ,
Fraud ,
Good Faith ,
Information Security ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Short Sales ,
SolarWinds
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
10/26/2023
/ CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Failure to Report ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Marketing ,
MNPI ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers