Episode 286 -- Matt Stankiewicz on the Ripple Decision and Celsius CEO Indictment
Blue Sky Laws: Defending State-Level Securities Violations
The Justice Insiders: The Administrative State is Not Your Friend - A Conversation with Professor Richard Epstein
Four Decision Points in SEC Securities Investigations
Crypto Enforcement Is Here, and Always Has Been
Cryptocurrency: The Regulator’s Perspective
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Regulatory and Enforcement Update
More than 50% increase in SEC cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions in 2023 over 2022. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to view cryptocurrency-related enforcement as a top priority, bringing 46...more
On July 13, 2022, Judge Analisa Torres issued her long awaited ruling on the summary judgment motions in the SEC’s case against Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”). The 34-page order provided a win for both the SEC and for Ripple...more
A recent decision out of the District of New Hampshire underscores the risks proprietary cryptocurrency issuers face and provides ammunition to the SEC in its continued quest to classify cryptocurrencies as securities subject...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced enforcement actions that reflected sweeping, and previously unarticulated, views of their respective...more
Ms. Kardashian found herself on the wrong side of the law Monday, when the SEC entered a cease-and-desist order against her (the “Kardashian Order”), finding her in violation of Section 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933....more
In its first enforcement action of the year involving ICOs, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two companies and their founder for violations of antifraud and registration provisions of the federal...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigates companies, brokerage firms, and individuals for a broad range of statutory and regulatory violations. These investigations can lead to civil or administrative...more
On February 1, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had brought charges against several individuals involved in an alleged scheme to induce investors to transfer more than $11 million to...more
Late last month, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York pushed for a heavy prison sentence against one of the founders of Centra Tech, Inc. (“Centra Tech”). As discussed earlier this year on the BitBlog,...more
On October 21, 2020, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment on consent against Kik Interactive Inc. to resolve the Securities and Exchange Commission’s charges that...more
For public and private companies in all industries, the risk of being targeted in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation is a very real concern. As new and innovative securities offerings continue to be...more
Late last month, SoluTech, Inc. and Nathan Pitruzello consented to a cease-and-desist order with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). From April 2018 through March 2019, SoluTech, a technology start-up...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced charges against Boon.Tech and its chief executive officer for fraud and registration violations in connection with a $5 million initial coin offering (ICO)...more
A government inquiry can result in serious consequences for a company or individual. Our new podcast series, Voluntary Disclosure—brought to you by the lawyers in our investigations, enforcement, and white collar practice—is...more
After an extended fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), Telegram has agreed to resolve charges the company's unregistered offering of digital tokens called "Grams" violated the United States federal...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced that the co-founder of a cryptocurrency company who misled victims into investing $25 million in a fraudulent scheme has pled guilty for his role in the scheme and faces up...more
The SEC recently required BitClave to return over $25 million to investors which the company raised by selling its Consumer Activity Tokens (CAT) to over 9,000 investors in an initial coin offering (ICO). BitClave was also...more
The SEC successfully landed another blow in its ongoing battle with Blockvest, LLC for alleged securities fraud and the sale of unregistered securities. ...more
On February 19, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled charges against Enigma MPC (Enigma) related to Enigma’s 2017 issuance of “ENG Tokens”. The SEC found Enigma engaged in an unregistered initial...more
Former Louisiana deputy sheriff and Russian resident Steven Seagal agreed to a Cease and Desist (“C&D”) Order by the SEC, finding violations of the non-touting provisions of Securities Act § 17(b) and imposing civil penalties...more
Hollywood martial arts sensei Steven Seagal was recently karate-chopped by the SEC for his alleged undisclosed payments for Twitter-touting a security that was being offered and sold in an initial coin offering. In a settled...more
The SEC has settled charges against action star Steven Seagal for failing to disclose payments he received for promoting an investment in an initial coin offering (ICO) conducted by Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G)....more
In 2019, regulators continued to consider whether and how to regulate blockchain technology. After the two previous years that included a high number of initial coin offerings (ICOs), many of which involved allegedly...more
Editors’ Note: This is the first in our start-of-year series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the coming year. Up next: a look at trends in health care enforcement. Look for additional...more
On September 30, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that blockchain developer Block.one had agreed to pay a $24 million fine to settle charges that it had engaged in an unregistered offering of securities...more