The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against eight individuals in a $100 million securities fraud scheme in which they used the social media platforms Twitter and Discord to manipulate exchange-traded stocks. According to the SEC, since at least January 2020, seven of the defendants promoted themselves as successful […]
Enforcement
AT&T Settles SEC Charge of Selectively Disclosing Material Information to Wall St. Analysts
Dec. 5, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that AT&T agreed to pay a $6.25 million penalty and three company executives agreed to pay $25,000 apiece stemming from charges brought in March 2021 related to the company’s selective disclosure of material nonpublic information to research analysts in violation of […]
SEC Charges Vika Ventures and its CEO in $6 Million Fraudulent Offering
Dec. 7, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against venture capital firm Vika Ventures LLC and its CEO and co-founder, George Iakovou, with fraudulently offering and selling more than $6 million of securities to at least 46 individual investors in multiple states including California, Georgia, and […]
SEC Charges Goldman Sachs Asset Management for Failing to Follow its Policies and Procedures Involving ESG Investments
While it is still unclear how the SEC has the authority to regulate enviormental and social investments, it continues to enforce its policies and to fine firms. On November 22, 2022, the SEC charged Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (GSAM) for policies and procedures failures involving two mutual funds and […]
SEC Charges Incarcerated Felon and Five Friends in Freeriding Scheme
October 31, 2022 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged six individuals, including a federal inmate, for conducting a freeriding scheme that defrauded multiple broker-dealers. Bogus Deposits to Brokerage Accounts The SEC’s complaint alleges that from May 2019 to early January 2021, Syed Arham Arbab, 25, and five others […]
Halal Capital Founder Charged in Scheme that Targeted Muslim Community
Nov. 2, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Jebara Igbara, the founder of Halal Capital LLC, in connection with a more than $8 million scheme that targeted investors from the New York metropolitan area’s Muslim community. According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Brooklyn, […]
SEC Charges Unregistered Brokers that Facilitated more than $1.2 Billion in Primarily Penny Stock Trades
Nov. 17, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Jeffrey K. Galvani, Stuart A. Jeffery, and two New York-based entities they controlled with operating as unregistered broker-dealers that facilitated more than $1.2 billion of securities trading, primarily in penny stocks. The SEC’s complaint alleges that Galvani and Jeffery […]
Creator of Global Crypto Ponzi Scheme Charged with $295 Million Fraud
Nov. 4, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Douver Torres Braga, Joff Paradise, Keleionalani Akana Taylor, and Jonathan Tetreault for their roles in Trade Coin Club, a fraudulent crypto Ponzi scheme that raised more than 82,000 bitcoin, valued at $295 million at the time, from […]
Cannabis Company and Former Senior Executive Settle Accounting Fraud Charges
Oct. 24, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Cronos Group Inc., a Nasdaq-listed cannabis company based in Toronto, for improperly accounting for millions of dollars of revenue and for other accounting misconduct in multiple reporting periods. The SEC also charged Cronos’s former Chief Commercial Officer, William Hilson, […]
Mattel Settles SEC Charges, Case Against its Former PwC Audit Partner Pending
Oct. 21, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that California-based Mattel Inc. has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle charges relating to misstatements in its third and fourth quarter 2017 financial statements. Separately, the SEC is initiating litigation against Joshua Abrahams, a former audit partner at […]