Gerald Shaw, a Disbarred Attorney and Convicted Felon, Arrested For Involvement In Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme

On Thursday, April 20, 2023, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation… Read More

Attorneys Gone Wild: Shawn Hackman, Elaine A. Dowling, and Harold P. Gewerter

On April 29, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a judgment against Shawn Hackman, who was previously disbarred by the State of Nevada and suspended by the SEC, ordering him to comply with the SEC’s suspension order… Read More

SEC sanctions Elaine A. Dowling and Harold P. Gewerter and charges Shawn Hackman in scheme to skirt a previous ban

On July 1st, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) filed charges against banned attorney Shawn F Hackman for violating a September 10, 2002 Commission Order that suspended him from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an… Read More

SEC Adds Additional Defendant In Shaw Insider Trading Case

Posted by Brenda Hamilton Securities Lawyer On March 6, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it had added Billy Joe Adcox, Jr. of Ruston, Louisiana to a civil injunctive action in the United States District Court… Read More

Michael Trahan Charged for Insider Trading

On June 7, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced fraud charges against Michael Trahan for insider trading in the securities of The Shaw Group, Inc. (Shaw), a Louisiana-based energy construction company, ahead of a public announcement that… Read More

SEC Announces Fraud Charges Against Victory Ho

On July 12, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced fraud charges against Victory Ho for insider trading in the securities of The Shaw Group, Inc. (Shaw), a Louisiana-based energy construction company, ahead of a public announcement… Read More

SEC Charges Two Friends With Insider Trading of Chicago Bridge & Iron

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 4, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged two friends with insider trading on confidential information from an investment banker about an impending transaction between engineering and construction companies.

The SEC’s Amended “Dealer” Definition for Toxic Lenders

In the past five years or so, we’ve written many times about “toxic lenders”. These toxic lenders have been active since the end of the last century and have flourished providing financing to small publicly traded companies quoted… Read More

SEC Commissioners Differ on Key Policies

Just before the end of 2021, Elad L. Roisman, one of the SEC’s five Commissioners, announced his resignation, effective at the end of January 2022. In a statement posted on the agency’s website, he said: Serving the American… Read More

SEC Whistleblower – Dodd Frank Revisions to be Proposed

On August 2, 2021, Gary Gensler, the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced that because he wasn’t entirely pleased with the amendments to the rules governing the agency’s whistleblower program that became final in… Read More

FINRA Enforcement of Non-Members and Penny Stock Issuers

FINRA & Penny Stocks When the subject of penny stock enforcement actions arises, most people think first of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or erroneously, of OTC Markets Group (OTCM). The SEC has ultimate authority to deal with… Read More

SEC Charges John Jumper with Stealing Millions from a Pension Plan

On April 18, 2018 the Securities and Exchange Commission charged John Jumper with stealing approximately $5.7 million from a Pennsylvania company’s pension plan. According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Memphis, Tennessee, on three separate… Read More

Former Equifax Executive, Jun Ying Charged With Insider Trading

On March 14th the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Jun Ying, a former chief information officer of a U.S. business unit of Equifax with insider trading in advance of the company’s September 2017 announcement about a massive data… Read More

SEC Charges Bank Analyst Ashish Aggarwal With Insider Trading

On August 25th, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a former investment bank analyst with illegally tipping his close friend with confidential information about clients involved in impending mergers and acquisitions of technology companies. The SEC… Read More

SEC Action: Silverleaf Financial and Dwight Shane Baldwin Charged

  On June 25, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil injunctive action against Silverleaf Financial, LLC and its sole principal Dwight Shane Baldwin in connection with an alleged fraudulent offering. The SEC action alleges… Read More

Medbox & The License to Swindle – Peter Berney Shells

Down the Rabbit Hole We Go We were recently asked to review a penny stock company called Medbox Inc. (MDBX).  The Medbox story has been of considerable interest over the past two years, for the most part because… Read More

SEC Charges Reverse Merger Purveyors By: Brenda Hamilton Attorney

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On May 5, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged a Toronto-based consultant and four associates with conducting illegal reverse mergers with China-based companies to engage in pump and dump schemes.   The… Read More

SEC Charges Toronto Consultant and Four Others in China Reverse Merger Schemes

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On May 5, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Toronto-based consultant and four associates with conducting illegal reverse merger schemes to bring a pair of China-based companies into the U.S. markets so… Read More

Dead Stock Walking l Reverse Mergers

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Since 2010, allegations of securities fraud involving Chinese reverse merger companies have mounted.  By December 31 2012, the auditors of at least 67 China-based U.S. public companies had resigned, and 126 China- based public… Read More

SEC Issues 379 Trading Suspensions

On May 14, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued trading suspensions of 379 dormant companies.  The SEC’s press release explained that the  suspensions were necessary to prevent the dormant companies from being hijacked by fraudsters and used to harm… Read More