April 15, 2022 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges and an asset freeze against several Las Vegas-area individuals and companies allegedly behind a nearly half-billion dollar Ponzi scheme involving purported personal injury settlements. The SEC charged certain defendants with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal […]
Enforcement
SEC Announces 2022 Examination Priorities
March 30, 2022 – The SEC today announced its 2022 examination priorities, including several significant areas of focus and many perennial risk areas. “The Division’s 2022 examination priorities identify key risk areas that we expect registrants to address, manage, and mitigate with vigilance,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “Investment advisers, […]
SEC Charges Seven California Residents in Insider Trading Ring Plus Criminal Charges for One
March 28, 2022 The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against three software engineers employed at Twilio, Inc., a San Francisco-based cloud computing communications company, and four family members and friends for allegedly generating more than $1 million in collective profits by insider trading ahead of the […]
Texas School District Settles Fraud Claims in$20 Million Bond Sale
March 16, 2022 — The SEC announced charges, and a settlement of those charges with Crosby Independent School District (Crosby ISD) and its former Chief Financial Officer, Carla Merka. They were charged with misleading investors in the sale of $20 million of municipal bonds in order to pay its outstanding […]
Advisor to Pay More Than $30 Million for Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest
March 3, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that registered investment adviser City National Rochdale, LLC (CNR) has agreed to pay more than $30 million to settle charges that its undisclosed conflicts of interest defrauded current and prospective clients. The money CNR pays will be placed into […]
BlockFi Agrees to Pay $100 Million in Penalties and Pursue Registration of its Crypto Lending Product
Introduction BlockFi is a cryptocurrency lending startup that offers crypto loans. Since its launch, the company has been criticized for its lending practices. In particular, it has faced questions about whether it can comply with regulations requiring it to register as a money transmitter and obtain a license. SEC Charges […]
Defense of an SEC Enforcement Investigation
SEC enforcement investigations cover a wide range of targets and witnesses, from the big investment banks and their employees, to public companies to private companies who are soliciting investments, small companies. The SEC conducts its investigations privately, and does so by requesting voluntary cooperation or issuing subpoenas for documents and […]
Robo-Adviser Settles SEC Charges of Misleading Investors
A robo-adviser is an automated investment tool that uses mathematical algorithms to evaluate the prospects of various investment options and, in theory, choose the best one. Robo-advisors are digital platforms that provide automated, algorithm-driven financial planning services with little to no human supervision. A typical robo-advisor collects information from clients […]
FINRA 2022 Exam Priorities
It is always good to know what regulators are going to focus on, and to prepare for that exam. Today FINRA released its 2022 Report on Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the Report). While not a road map it provides firms with information that may help inform their compliance programs. […]
Can The SEC Bring Criminal Charges?
While the SEC has extremely broad investigative and enforcement powers, it cannot file criminal charges. It can, and often does, work with the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office to bring those charges. The SEC and the DOJ often work together, with the SEC sending its more […]