MusclePharm Charged In SEC Investigation

On September 8, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a sports supplements and nutrition company with committing a series of accounting and disclosure violations, including the failure to properly report perks provided to its executives as… Read More

Illinois Court Orders Production of Documents By Navistar in SEC Investigation

  On June 30, 2015, United States Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier issued an order requiring production of certain documents that Navistar International Corporation (Navistar) claimed to be privileged in response to investigative subpoenas issued by the Securities… Read More

Medbox, Inc. Announces SEC Investigation

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On November 12, 2014, Medbox, Inc. (MDBX) put an end to nearly two weeks of speculation by acknowledging in its 10-Q for the period ended September 30 that the company has received a formal… Read More

Crucible Capital and Chuck Moore Indicted for Obstructing SEC Investigation

On August 9, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced charges against Chuck Moore and Crucible Capital Group, a New York-based brokerage firm for allegedly violating net capital requirements and falsifying books and records to conceal… Read More

What Causes An SEC Investigation? Securities Lawyer 101

Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) investigations can result from a variety of factors.  SEC investigations can be triggered in ways, including during the SEC’s routine review of SEC reports and schedules, routine inspections by FINRA of clearing houses and/or brokerage firms, reports… Read More

SEC Inquiries and Investigations

The SEC’s Enforcement Division conducts investigations pursuant to formal Orders of Investigation that authorize the staff of the Enforcement Division to seek the production of relevant information, either in the form of documents or witness testimony.  Although the SEC… Read More

Securities Attorney Matthew C McMurdo suspended by the SEC

On September 20, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or “Commission”) issued an Administrative Order against securities attorney Matthew C. McMurdo for violating Section 4C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and Rule… Read More

SEC Charges Seven NASDAQ Listed Public Companies with Violations of Whistleblower Protection Rule

On September 9, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced settled charges against seven public companies for using employment, separation, and other agreements that violated rules prohibiting actions to impede whistleblowers from reporting potential misconduct to… Read More

Are SEC Whistleblower Awards the Road to Riches or a Waste of Time?

On August 23, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced It had awarded a total of $98 million to two  SEC whistleblowers “whose information and assistance led to an SEC enforcement action and an action brought by… Read More

Cassava Sciences (SAVA) Faces an Indictment and at Least Two Investigations

Cassava Sciences (SAVA) is a Nasdaq issuer that claims to have developed a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease; the product is currently in Phase 3 trials. It’s called Simufilam, and the company says it not only stops the progression… Read More

SEC Awards Whistleblower a Bounty of More Than $37 Million

On July 26, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an award of more than $37 million to a whistleblower whose information and assistance led to a successful SEC enforcement action. The whistleblower persisted in reporting the… Read More

Andrew Left of Citron Research Indicted by the DOJ and Charged by the SEC

On July 26, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced litigation filed against activist short seller Andrew Left and his firm, Citron Capital LLC, for devising and executing a $20 million scheme to defraud retail investors who followed… Read More

Jury finds Guy Gentile liable as control person of SureTrader in SEC case

On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, after a ten-day trial, a jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida found Guy Gentile, the founder, owner, and CEO of MintBroker International, Ltd., f/k/a Swiss America Securities Ltd. and d/b/a SureTrader, a Bahamas-based broker-dealer, liable as a control person of SureTrader, which operated as a broker-dealer in the United States without being registered, in violation of the federal securities laws. The jury also found Guy Gentile liable for inducing SureTrader’s registration violations.

What are the SEC Reporting Requirements After My Form S-1 is Effective?

Once the SEC staff declares your company’s Securities Act registration statement on Form S-1 effective, the company becomes subject to the SEC’s reporting requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  These rules require your company to file… Read More

Court denies James L. Koutoulas’ petition to quash SEC subpoena

On May 23, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC“) application to enforce a subpoena for the production of documents to James L. Koutoulas (“Koutoulas ”)… Read More

CAT’s Cradle – Ongoing Problems with the SEC’s Consolidated Audit Trail

In July 2012, the SEC adopted a new Rule 613 under Section 11A(a)(3)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”). It would require national securities exchanges and national Self-Regulatory Organizations (“SROs’) “to act jointly in developing… Read More

SEC Charges Florida Real Estate Developer Rishi Kapoor with Perpetuating a $93 Million Fraud

On January 3, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced that it obtained an asset freeze and other emergency relief concerning an alleged $93 million real estate investment fraud perpetrated by Miami-based developer Rishi Kapoor. The… Read More

The Evolving SEC Actions Against Toxic Lenders

Convertible Financing For decades, microcap issuers on the OTC Markets in need of financing have largely been forced to turn to what are known as “toxic funders” or “toxic lenders.” The money they offer comes with a hefty… Read More

SEC Enforcement Issues Wells Notices for Meta Materials Execs

As summer peaked at the end of July, Meta Materials (MMAT) popped back into the news. What had happened? The company filed a Form 8-K explaining that MMAT, its CEO George Palikaras. and John Brda, the former CEO… Read More

SEC Charges James P. Anglim in Connection with Fraudulent Scheme to Manipulate Stock Prices

On Monday, July 17, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”)  charged New Jersey resident and former broker-dealer registered representative, James P. Anglim, for engaging in multiple deceptive and manipulative schemes to assist various people who controlled… Read More

SEC Arrives Too Late; Ponzi Scheme Polka Ends in Murder-Suicide

On February 1, 2023, three Minnesota men met in a parking lot in Bloomington, about 10 miles from Minneapolis, to discuss business. Richard B. Myre, 44, arrived first, in his black Ford F-150. He pulled into the lot… Read More

Crypto Community Takes Aim at SEC Chair Gary Gensler

As this year’s long Fourth of July holiday began, surprising “news” about Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, spread across social media. Its source was a blog called CryptoAlert. The headline was an attention grabber:… Read More

SEC Charges Auctus Fund Management LLC and Its Co-Owners, Louis Posner and Alfred Sollami, with Acting as Unregistered Securities Dealers

On June 1, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced charges against Auctus Fund Management, LLC (“Auctus Management”) and its co-owners Alfred Sollami of Brookline, Massachusetts and Louis Posner of Mansfield, Massachusetts, for failing to register… Read More

Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and six other celebrities charged by the SEC in crypto fraud

On Wednesday, March 22nd, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC“) announced charges against eight celebrities in connection with a broader investigation of crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and three of his companies: Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd.,… Read More

SEC Charges Avraham Eisenberg with Manipulating Mango Markets’ “Governance Token” to Steal $116 Million of Crypto Assets

On January 20, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged Avraham Eisenberg with orchestrating an attack on a crypto asset trading platform, Mango Markets, by manipulating the MNGO token, a so-called governance token that was offered… Read More

SEC Charges J.H. Darbie & Co with Anti-Money Laundering Violations

On December 12, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged J.H. Darbie & Co., Inc., a New York City-based brokerage firm, with failing to report suspicious activity related to transactions in tens of billions of shares… Read More

Joseph Padilla Arrested and Charged in $7 Million Securities Fraud

On August 25, 2022, Joseph Padilla was arrested at the San Diego International Airport in connection with his alleged involvement in a sophisticated securities fraud scheme that generated over $7 million in illicit proceeds.  Padilla, 53, of Carlsbad,… Read More

SEC Defendant and FBI Fugitive Justin Costello Arrested

On October 4, 2022, SEC Defendant and FBI fugitive Justin Costello was arrested by an FBI SWAT team. Costello had been on the run from authorities as a fugitive since September 29th after failing to surrender to authorities… Read More

SEC Charges Kim Kardashian with Violating Section 17(b)

On October 3, 2022, the SEC Division of Enforcement entered into a settlement of charges with Kimberly Kardashian (“Kardashian” or “Respondent”). The SEC Offer of Settlement (the “Offer”) includes findings that: On June 13, 2021, Kim Kardashian—a well-known… Read More

SEC Targets Publicly Traded Chinese Issuers Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act

Since Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) completed its going public transaction in August 2005 on the NASDAQ Stock Market, many U.S. investors have found themselves fascinated and frustrated by Chinese companies. Baidu, a technology giant and AI developer offering, among… Read More