On May 14, 2025, Deputy Enforcement Director Antonia Apps told those gathered at an anti‑money laundering conference in Washington, D.C. to expect a more measured approach from SEC Enforcement. That may include, she...more
6/25/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Development ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. For the month when Paul Atkins was sworn in as SEC Chairman, we examine:
• The SEC’s...more
5/28/2025
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Receivership ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Stablecoins
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
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
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
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
In a unanimous decision issued on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a corporation’s failure to disclose information regarding known trends or uncertainties, required by SEC regulation, cannot be the basis for private...more
4/18/2024
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Macquarie Infrastructure Corp v Moab Partners LP ,
Omissions ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
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
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)
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
Securities lawyers are familiar with Item 303 of Regulation S-K, which calls for companies to disclose in the Management Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) section of an annual report “known trends or uncertainties that have...more
For the first time, a Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) case may be headed to trial. On September 8, 2022, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York denied cross-motions for summary judgment in a case...more