On February 6, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced that it settled accounting fraud charges against Cloopen Group Holding Limited ("Cloopen" or the "Company"), a cloud-based communications...more
The Nutter Securities Enforcement Update is a periodic summary of noteworthy recent securities enforcement activity, settlements, decisions, and charges....more
Patisserie Valerie is a British patisserie and café chain. In 2018, the company found itself at the centre of an alleged accounting scandal. In 2019, Patisserie Valerie announced that its board had been notified of accounting...more
This article is the first of a series on accounting fraud which follows our July and September webinars on “How to Commit Accounting Fraud: Why this can ultimately lead to corporate collapse.”...more
An amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (the Bill) has brought in the offense of failure to prevent fraud (Offense). Under the new Offense, an organization will be liable where a specified fraud...more
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is to introduce new powers for UK authorities to prosecute organizations for failing to prevent fraud committed by their agents, or employees. Championed as a “game changer”...more
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
On October 24, 2022, the Security & Exchange Commission (SEC) issued settled orders against Cronos Group, Inc. (Cronos), a Canadian cannabis company, and its former Chief Commercial Officer. Cronos cultivates, manufactures,...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s bread-and-butter enforcement actions focus on accounting fraud. The SEC has a long history in uncovering fraudulent financial reporting schemes. In the early 2000s, Wall Street was...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has followed through on its much publicized intention of more aggressive enforcement. For instance, in June, the regulator brought an accounting fraud action that included a...more
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held on January 7, 2022 that the federal securities laws do not apply to U.S. transactions in unlisted, unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) for a...more
After a long hiatus, the SEC announced a settlement with WPP plc, the world’s largest advertising group, for FCPA violations in India, China, Brazil and Peru for $19.2 million. The SEC’s resolution charges WPP with...more
Recently, the SEC announced a settlement with Kraft Foods for $62 million and with two Kraft executives for financial reporting misstatements. Along with the corporate settlement with Kraft, the SEC announced proposed...more
On July 26, 2021, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held, after a bench trial, that Plaintiff Botta failed to prove that Defendant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) terminated his...more
Corporate investigations can serve a variety of different purposes. From uncovering accounting fraud to responding to cybersecurity breaches and preparing for litigation, there are various circumstances in which corporate...more
NY AG Letitia James is suing Amazon, accusing the online retail giant “of not doing enough to protect workers in the state from the coronavirus” and calling its response to the pandemic “deficient.” ...more
Coffee fans may argue that a bad day with coffee is better than a good day without it, but Luckin Coffee is certainly putting that adage to the test for its investors. We began writing about the coffee company’s woes earlier...more
The Fed’s Open Markets Committee meeting wrapped on Wednesday, and in remarks following the meeting, Fed Chair Powell called the case for fiscal policy right now “very, very strong,”—a not-so-subtle nudge to Congress to act...more
The number of public company and accounting fraud cases filed under SEC Chair Jay Clayton has declined. The SEC, however, continues to selectively pursue these types of cases. In the latest example, in aggressive parallel...more
The latest from Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s first of several days on the Hill, including their take that the economy is improving but that continued fiscal support—from the Fed and from Congress—was...more
“Germany’s Enron” Continues to Stagger Forward - It’s time to talk about Wirecard AG. In many respects, it’s yet another accounting fraud scandal – albeit a massive one. But now, inevitably, it also has become a money...more
The California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, recently issued a much-needed opinion that closed a gap in existing case law regarding duties owed by banks to its depositors. It has long been the rule that banks owe no duty...more
It is one thing to wake up and find yourself as the lead story on a Sunday morning when the New York Times (NYT) runs a corruption story about your organization above the fold. It is quite another when the world’s top...more
Like most of the rest of the world, the speakers and attendees at Securities Enforcement Forum West 2020 last week had to adapt this year by trading in their microphones on the stage of a grand ballroom for an array of home...more
In an address delivered on May 12, 2020, Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, discussed the Staff’s response and adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic. During his remarks, Mr. Peikin discussed the...more