If you are planning to move into the crowdfunding consulting or platform area make sure you are familiar with the SEC broker-dealer rules, which require registration before performing broker-dealer services. If you plan on...more
The SEC announced that an investment advisory firm, two owners, and a former chief compliance officer have agreed to settle charges that the firm again violated the custody rule after being reprimanded for violations only a...more
In remarks before the 2015 National Society of Compliance Professionals, National Conference, Andrew Ceresney, Director, SEC Division of Enforcement, outlined the type of criteria used to charge Chief Compliance Officers with...more
11/4/2015
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Investors ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
The SEC announced that three private equity fund advisers within The Blackstone Group have agreed to pay nearly $39 million to settle charges that they failed to fully inform investors about benefits that the advisers...more
10/12/2015
/ Breach of Duty ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Investors ,
Legal Fees ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
A settled SEC enforcement action describes an alleged interesting social media fraud. Two defendants that reside in India were alleged to have been behind the fraud.
According to the SEC the scheme was an online...more
10/1/2015
/ Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Fraud ,
Google ,
India ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Offering Fraud ,
Online Payments ,
Public Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Twitter ,
Websites ,
YouTube
AgFeed Industries, Inc.’s accounting irregularities culminated in a March 2014 enforcement action brought against AgFeed by the SEC. The enforcement action yielded an $18 million disgorgement penalty, referred to as the...more
A recent study by Urska Velikonja, Emory University School of Law; University of Chicago – Law School, analyzes the enforcement statistics the SEC publishes. The abstract to the study reads as follows: “Every October, after...more
Defendants continue to pound nails into what may be to be the SEC’s coffin that its administrative proceedings are unconstitutional. If the genie is out of the bottle it’s hard to tell what the far reaching implications...more
MusclePharm Corporation, or MSLP, and certain related parties recently settled an SEC enforcement action which included charges related to non-disclosure of certain perks. The SEC alleged from 2010 through July 2014, MSLP...more
In State National Bank of Big Spring v. Lew, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the plaintiff had standing to challenge the constitutionality of the CFPB. The Court made quick...more
7/24/2015
/ Appeals ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FSOC ,
GE Capital Retail Bank ,
Recess Appointments ,
Richard Cordray ,
Standing
The SEC announced a whistleblower award of more than $3 million to a company insider whose information helped the SEC crack a complex fraud. The multi-million dollar payout is the third highest award to date under the SEC’s...more
Everyone knew the SEC would pursue a marquee-name private equity sponsor for misallocating expenses. It finally happened, with KKR settling charges for misallocating “broken deal” expenses. Charges against others are likely...more
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, has entered a preliminary injunction preventing the SEC from conducting an administrative proceeding in an insider trading matter. The...more
The CFPB filed a complaint in federal district court against RPM Mortgage, Inc. and its CEO, Erwin Robert Hirt, for illegally paying bonuses and higher commissions to loan originators to incentivize them to steer consumers...more
The CFTC accused Kraft Food Groups, Inc. and former parent Mondelez Global LLC with manipulation pursuant to Section 6(c)(1) of the Commodities Exchange Act and Regulation 180.1 promulgated thereunder. Regulation 180.1 makes...more
The SEC announced a maximum whistleblower award payment of 30 percent of amounts collected in connection with In the Matter of Paradigm Capital Management, Inc. and Candace King Weir, File No. 3-15930 (June 16, 2014), the...more
The SEC announced its first enforcement action against a company for using improperly restrictive language in confidentiality agreements with the potential to stifle the whistleblowing process....more
The SEC charged the former CEO of Silicon Valley-based technology firm Polycom Inc. with using nearly $200,000 in corporate funds for personal perks that were not disclosed to investors. It’s the second enforcement action in...more
Larry Stryker petitioned the Second Circuit for review of an order of the SEC that denied his claim for a whistleblower award. He sought the award under Section 21F of the Dodd-Frank Act based on information he supplied to...more
SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher delivered a speech where he considered the role of bad actor disqualifications in the context of the SEC’s enforcement initiatives. According to the Commissioner, the purpose of bad actor...more
SEC Commissioner Kara Stein recently described what many saw as a possible model for harsher bad actor waivers after settling a matter with the SEC. According to Ms. Stein “The waiver was for a limited time, and only if...more
The CFPB took its first action against a “buy-here, pay-here” car dealer. The CFPB alleged that the dealer, DriveTime, harmed consumers by making harassing debt collection calls and providing inaccurate credit information...more
The SEC settled actions with ten companies for alleged Form 8-K violations. The investigation centered on failure to file Form 8-K when shares of common stock are sold in transactions that are not registered with the SEC...more
The SEC announced charges against an investment advisory firm and three of its top officials for violating the “custody rule” that requires firms to follow certain procedures when they control or have access to client money...more
The SEC charged 29 officers, directors, or major shareholders for violating federal securities laws requiring them to promptly report information about their holdings and transactions in company stock. Seven publicly-traded...more