The Commission frequently increases the rate at enforcement actions are filed in advance of the September 30th fiscal year end. That fiscal year end is followed by Congressional budget hearings where statistics are at least...more
Within a week of the ceremonial swearing in of its last commissioner, the now fully formed Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) issued 17 enforcement orders and filed one complaint. These initial...more
A commodity merchandising firm was fined US $6.55 million by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Chicago Board of Trade combined for attempting to manipulate the prices of wheat futures contracts. However, its...more
On January 18, 2018, HSBC Holdings Plc (“HSBC”) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section (“DOJ”) pursuant to which it will pay $101.5 million in criminal...more
SEC Not Feeling Groovy About Cryptocurrencies – Tells Registered Investment Funds: Slow Down, You Move Too Fast: The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management issued a letter to two industry...more
“What could you arrest them for?” asked the Scottish tweeter who just made $97 total manipulating two stocks. “@dunragit are you serious? Did you read my post? It’s called securities fraud.” It would be difficult to find the...more
The SEC’s apparent preference for administrative proceedings as a venue for its enforcement actions continues to draw criticism. H.R. 3798 is now pending in the House of Representatives. The bill is tilted the “Due Process...more
September 30th Madness dominated this week. The drive for stats was evident as the Commission stacked up cases like cord wood at a pace seldom seen. Twenty-two municipal bond actions were filed in one swoop; an insider...more
The Commission responded to critics of its administrative proceedings this week, proposing changes to the Rules of Practice which govern them. If adopted the new rules would modify the time period within which the actions...more
Alleged Flash Crasher's Formal Indictment Provides More Details Regarding His Purported Spoofing - The US Department of Justice filed a formal indictment against Navinder Singh Sarao in a US federal court in Chicago on...more
The SEC filed three actions following-up on its settled proceeding against Oppenheimer for selling millions of shares of unregistered penny stocks. Each individual settled with the agency. In addition, the Commission brought...more
Microcap fraud is an on-going enforcement priority of the Commission. In SEC v. Craven, Civil Action No. 15-cv-1820 (S.D.N.Y. Filed March 11, 2015), the Commission brought a manipulation action against a father and son team,...more
The Commission brought two FCPA cases this week, one of which was in conjunction with the DOJ. Both centered on the payments for gifts and travel in China. In addition, the SEC filed three manipulation cases, an action...more
The Commission continues to focus on microcap fraud actions with two new manipulation cases involving penny stocks. In one a former registered representative acted as an unregistered broker and then engaged in a series of...more
This week the SEC and the DOJ filed a settled FCPA action. The disgorgement paid by the issuer put the case at number ten on the list for the largest such amounts paid in an SEC FCPA case....more