Feb. 9, 2023, the SEC has taken action against Payward Ventures, Inc. and Payward Trading Ltd., commonly known as Kraken, for violating federal securities laws by failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto-asset staking-as-a-service program. Both Kraken entities have agreed to a settlement, which requires them to […]
Enforcement
Activision Blizzard to Pay $35 Million for Failing to Maintain Disclosure Controls Related to Complaints of Workplace Misconduct and Violating Whistleblower Protection Rule
Feb. 3, 2023 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Activision Blizzard Inc., a video game development and publishing company, agreed to pay $35 million to settle charges that it failed to maintain disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that the company could assess whether its disclosures pertaining […]
SEC Publishes Annual Staff Report on Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations
Feb. 2, 2023 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today published a staff report that provides a summary of the staff’s examinations of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) and discusses the state of competition, transparency, and conflicts of interest among NRSROs. “The Office of Credit Ratings is critical to […]
Bloomberg to Pay $5 Million for Misleading Disclosures about Its Valuation Methodologies for Fixed Income Securities
Jan. 23, 2023 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Bloomberg Finance L.P. (Bloomberg) for misleading disclosures relating to its paid subscription service, BVAL, which provides daily price valuations for fixed-income securities to financial services entities. The SEC’s order finds that from at least 2016 through October […]
SEC Tightens Cryptocurrency Enforcement
The SEC continues to make cryptocurrency-related enforcement a top priority under Chair Gary Gensler, bringing 30 enforcement actions against digital-asset market participants in 2022, up 50% from the 20 actions brought in 2021 and the highest number since 2013, according to a Cornerstone Research report released today. The report, SEC […]
What Is FINRA
FINRA is the Financial Industry Regulatory Association and is the successor to the National Association of Securities Dealers. FINRA is authorized by Congress to regulate and oversee the broker-dealer industry, ensuring that it operates fairly and honestly. It oversees over 4,000 brokerage firms and more than 600,000 brokers across the […]
SEC Charges McDonald’s Former CEO for Misrepresentations About His Termination
an. 9, 2023 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Stephen J. Easterbrook, former CEO of McDonald’s Corporation, with making false and misleading statements to investors about the circumstances leading to his termination in November 2019. McDonald’s also was charged for shortcomings in its public disclosures related to Easterbrook’s […]
SEC Charges Former BlackRock Portfolio Manager with Undisclosed Conflict of Interest
Jan. 5, 2023 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Randy Robertson, a former BlackRock Advisors, LLC portfolio manager, for failing to disclose a conflict of interest arising from his relationship with a film distribution company in which the fund he managed for BlackRock invested millions of dollars. To […]
SEC Charges 8 in Connection with $45 Million Crypto Fraud
Jan. 4, 2023 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Neil Chandran, Garry Davidson, Michael Glaspie, Amy Mossel, Linda Knott, AEO Publishing Inc, Banner Co-Op, Inc, and BannersGo, LLC for their involvement in a fraudulent investment scheme named CoinDeal that raised more than $45 million from sales of unregistered securities […]
SEC Charges Former SPAC CFO for Orchestrating $5 Million Fraud Scheme
Jan. 3, 2023 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against Cooper J. Morgenthau, the former CFO of African Gold Acquisition Corp., a SPAC or special purpose acquisition company, for orchestrating a scheme in which he stole more than $5 million from the company and from investors […]