While some enforcement areas have taken a pause this year, False Claims Act enforcement—especially around customs duties—is moving and likely to get busier.
Just last week the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint...more
4/25/2025
/ China ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Penalties ,
Supply Chain ,
Valuation ,
Whistleblowers
On April 7, 2024, the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut approved the Securities and Exchange Commission’s request to dismiss its action against a hedge fund manager for the manager’s alleged failure...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has a lot on its plate—too many enforcement cases, not enough time, and a limited appetite for dragging out every compliance misstep. So, yesterday, at the International Futures...more
On February 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission formally abandoned its enforcement action against Coinbase. ...more
3/5/2025
/ Coinbase ,
Compliance ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Howey ,
Investment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On Friday, Coinbase announced that the SEC staff had agreed in principle to dismiss its case alleging the company had failed to register as a securities exchange, broker-dealer, and clearing agency. We can expect the...more
2/25/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinTech ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
Last week President Trump signed an Executive Order pausing enforcement of the nation’s most robust anti-bribery statute, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The EO seeks a complete overhaul of the FCPA enforcement...more
2/14/2025
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Attorney General ,
Cartels ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Significant Transnational Criminal Organization ,
UK
If there is one enforcement shift to expect in the next year or so, it is an uptick in federal law enforcement moves designed to overwhelm the targets. This means more search warrants (or “raids”) at businesses, especially...more
According to reports, more than 50 lawyers and staffers in the SEC’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit have been reassigned to other roles in the agency....more
On January 31, 2024, bankrupt Genesis Global Holdco, LLC, on behalf of its subsidiary Genesis Global Capital, LLC1 asked the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to approve a settlement reached...more
On Sept 13, 2023, for its second non-fungible token (NFT) related enforcement action, the SEC issued a settled Order against Stoner Cats 2, LLC (“SC2”) for SC2’s offer and sale of 10,320 NFTs linked to images of characters...more
During this 30-minute webinar, Seward & Kissel partners from the Firm’s Government Enforcement and Internal Investigations Group will discuss the SEC’s recent enforcement actions regarding recordkeeping failures related to...more
On September 20th, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) entered a settled order (“Order”) against the wealth management arm of a global financial services firm (“Firm”) for its failure to protect...more
On July 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced insider trading charges against a former Coinbase product manager, Ishan Wahi, his brother, Nikhil Wahi, and a friend, Sameer Ramani, for trading...more
8/15/2022
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Coinbase ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Injunctions ,
Insider Trading ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Violations
On June 15, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint against California-based broker-dealer Western International Securities, Inc. (“Western”) alleging violations of Regulation Best Interest...more
6/29/2022
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Retail Installment Sales Contracts ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Standard of Conduct
On June 13, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) entered a settled order (“Order”) against three of The Charles Schwab Corporation’s investment adviser subsidiaries (collectively, “Schwab”) on charges that...more
6/21/2022
/ Charles Schwab ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
False Statements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Management ,
Management Fees ,
Misleading Statements ,
Robo-Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
On June 1, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the indictment of former OpenSea employee Nathaniel Chastain for an NFT “insider trading” scheme.
From at least June to...more