Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought fraud charges against Jonathan Larmore for allegedly looting $35 million from real estate funds he advised. Larmore is a real estate investor, an investment adviser,...more
Recently, in SEC v. Spartan Securities Group, Ltd, et al., a Florida federal court held that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) could seek disgorgement and direct funds to the Treasury because the defrauded...more
On May 3, the SEC announced that the Cyber Unit in the Division of Enforcement is renamed the “Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit” and will expand by 20 positions to approximately 50 positions. Regulation of digital assets has...more
5/5/2022
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement ,
Fraud ,
Lending ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
On March 16, the SEC filed a municipal bond fraud case against Crosby Independent School District and its former CFO in a $20 million bond offering. Crosby is a suburb of Houston, Texas. The SEC also charged the district’s...more
On December 20, 2021, the SEC and DOJ each announced fraud charges against five Russian nationals. The five defendants are charged with a multiyear scheme of hacking into service providers that help public companies make...more
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged two individuals— Florida residents, Suyun Gu, and his friend, Yong Lee—for their involvement in allegedly fraudulent wash sales involving out-of-the-money...more
10/7/2021
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Disgorgement ,
Fraud ,
New Jersey ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Traders ,
Wash Sale Rules
On April 1, 2021, the Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) announced the entry of a Consent Order against an SEC registered investment adviser named Independent Financial Group, LLC (“Independent”). The TSSB’s action may...more
The government cannot take action against abuses of the various aid programs associated with the CARES Act without first identifying abuses. In a recent round of inquiries, FINRA sent requests to numerous individuals it has...more
In sports, it is often said that “winning cures everything.” The same concept applies to uncovering fraud. When the economy is strong and most investors are making money, there is little incentive to ask difficult questions...more
The Fifth Circuit overturned a U.S. District Court’s approval of a settlement between Ralph Janvey, the Receiver for Stanford International Bank, and various insurance company Underwriters, under which the Underwriters had...more
6/27/2019
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Co-Insured Issues ,
Fraud ,
In Rem Jurisdiction ,
Insurance Code ,
Insurance Industry ,
Jurisdiction ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Receivership ,
Reversal ,
Settlement ,
Third-Party ,
Underwriting