March 23, 2023 —The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged three individuals for selling interests in pre-IPO companies without registering as broker-dealers and misleading investors about associated fees. Scott Hollender, Gabriel Migliano, Jr., and Frank Vecchio were accused of actively soliciting investments for funds set up as series limited liability […]
Enforcement
What Does a Securities Lawyer Do?
Mark J. Astarita, Esq. is a nationally recognized securities attorney, representing clients in securities investigations, arbitrations and litigation matters across the country. You can contact him at 212-509-6544 or by email at mja@sallahlaw.com While securities law is itself a specialized field of law, there is more than one type of […]
Blackbaud Agrees to Pay $3 Million to Settle Charges Over Misleading Disclosures of Ransomware Attack
Blackbaud Inc., a South Carolina-based public company that provides donor data management software to non-profit organizations, has agreed to pay a $3 million civil penalty to settle charges over misleading disclosures about a 2020 ransomware attack that impacted more than 13,000 customers. The SEC announced the settlement on March 9, […]
Rio Tinto Pays $15 Million Penalty for Foreign Corrupt Practices Violation in Guinea
Rio Tinto, a global mining and metals company, has agreed to pay a $15 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The violation is related to a bribery scheme involving a consultant in Guinea. The Hiring of a Consultant […]
SEC Charges Silver Edge Financial LLC and Equity Acquisition Company Ltd. with Unregistered Broker-Dealer Activity
On March 3, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Silver Edge Financial LLC, Equity Acquisition Company Ltd. (EAC), their owners, and sales staff with unregistered broker-dealer activity related to their sales of interests in shares of various pre-IPO companies. In this article, we will discuss the details of […]
The Greenbrier Companies Settle with SEC for Failing to Disclose Perks to Executives
The SEC announced on March 2, 2023, that The Greenbrier Companies Inc. and its founder and former CEO and Chairman, William A. Furman, settled charges for failing to disclose perks provided to Furman and other Greenbrier executives, as well as compensation Furman received from Greenbrier’s charters of his private plane […]
SEC Charges Ontrak Chairman Terren Peizer with Insider Trading
The SEC has charged Terren S. Peizer, the Executive Chairman of Ontrak Inc., a healthcare treatment company based in Santa Monica, California, with insider trading. Peizer is accused of selling over $20 million of Ontrak stock between May and August 2021, while in possession of material nonpublic negative information related […]
Former Co-Lead Engineer of FTX Trading Charged by SEC for Role in Multiyear Scheme to Defraud Equity Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Nishad Singh, the former Co-Lead Engineer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), for his involvement in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX, a crypto trading platform that Singh co-founded with Samuel Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang. The scheme allegedly involved diverting […]
Ozy Media and Executives Charged with Defrauding Investors of $50 Million
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged media and entertainment company Ozy Media Inc. and its executives with defrauding investors of approximately $50 million through misrepresentations regarding the company’s financial condition, business relationships, and fundraising efforts. The CEO of Ozy Media, Carlos R. Watson, Jr., the former COO Samir Rao, […]
Insider Trading Charges Laid Against Andrew Stiles and Gray Stiles by SEC and U.S. Attorney’s Office
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York have jointly charged Andrew Stiles and Gray Stiles with insider trading. Andrew Stiles is accused of trading Kodak and Novavax stocks based on nonpublic information related to the companies’ government partnerships aimed […]