OTC Markets OTC Pink Current Reports – Material Corporate Events

In addition to the OTC Markets requirement that public companies on the OTC Pink Market file annual and quarterly reports, all companies on the OTC Pink Market are required to promptly disclose to the public any news or… Read More

Roadmap for a Successful Direct Public Offering

Preparing for a direct public offering or an initial public offering (“IPO”) or takes both a commitment of time and money.  Unlike an Initial Public Offering, a direct public offering does not involve an underwriter.  While it often takes a year or longer… Read More

Going Public and Direct Public Offerings Provide Benefits in 2025

Going public is still considered a benefit to issuers seeking to raise capital or obtain recognition of their business. Even in a down economy, private companies seek the perceived benefits of being publicly traded.   While there are a variety… Read More

Whistleblower Frequently Asked Questions

The SEC’s whistleblower program was established by Congress to incentivize whistleblowers to report specific, timely and credible information about possible federal securities laws violations. The Commission is authorized to provide monetary awards to eligible individuals who come forward… Read More

Reverse Stock Splits by Nasdaq and NYSE Issuers

Public Companies whose securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ), particularly the NASDAQ Capital Market, frequently effect reverse stock splits to comply with NASDAQ and NYSE’s minimum $1.00 share price… Read More

SEC Settles with Morningview Financial, LLC and Its Managing Member, Miles M. Riccio, Alleged to Have Acted as Unregistered Dealers

On December 23, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments on consent against Defendant Morningview Financial, LLC, a company alleged to have acted as an unregistered dealer; Defendant Miles… Read More

Pink Current will become OTCID on July 1, 2025

Over the past 25 years, the OTC Markets Group (OTCQX: OTCM) has made many changes to modernize the OTC Markets platform. This platform facilitates trading in over 12,000 securities, totaling hundreds of billions of dollars in transactions each… Read More

What Are American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”)?

Many foreign companies use American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) as a means of going public to raise capital or establish a trading presence in the United States. ADRs are traded on exchanges like NASDAQ or NYSE as well as… Read More

Philip Verges Indicted for Manipulating Five Publicly Traded Companies and Defrauding Investors of Over $200M

On December 10, 2024, a federal grand jury in Dallas, Texas, returned an indictment charging a Texas businessman for his role in a yearslong scheme involving at least five publicly traded companies. According to court documents, Philip Verges,… Read More

Foreign Private Issuer Periodic Reporting on Form 20-F and Form 6-K

After a foreign private issuer has completed its going public transaction by completing an offering registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or registered as a class of securities under the Exchange Act… Read More

Clinton Greyling Sentenced for Role in Unregistered Broker Scheme

On December 11, 2024, Clinton Greyling, 50, of Tamarac, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to one year of probation. He was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and to… Read More

SEC says John Clayton, owner of Standard Registrar and Transfer Co, secretly acquired and dumped millions of shares of microcap stocks.

On December 11, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC“) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Utah charging five individuals and three entities for their roles in a fraudulent scheme… Read More

Court of Appeals partially Rules in Favor of Alpine Securities but Alpine not out of the woods yet

On November 22, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Washington, D.C., made its ruling in a case involving Alpine Securities Corporation (“Alpine”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA“), reversing… Read More

What to Expect When You’re Expeccting – Trump’s SEC

Market participants are speculating about the new Trump deregulation agenda and how it will impact the SEC.  With Republicans in control of the 119th Congress, we expect to see SEC deregulation and changes aimed at capital formation and… Read More

The SEC Announces Enforcement Results for Fiscal Year 2024

On November 22, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it filed 583 total enforcement actions in fiscal year 2024 while obtaining orders for $8.2 billion in financial remedies, the highest amount in SEC history. The 583… Read More

SEC brings charges against BIT Mining Ltd, Azure Power Global Ltd and Adani Green Energy Ltd in alleged massive bribery schemes

This week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC“) brought charges in three separate alleged massive bribery schemes. In action #1, brought on November 18, 2024, the SEC announced that BIT Mining Ltd., formerly known as 500.com Limited,… Read More

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 Charges Olayinka Oyebola and His Accounting Firm With Aiding and Abetting Massive TINGO Fraud

On September 30, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC“) charged Olayinka Oyebola and his Public Company Accounting Oversight Board-registered accounting firm, Olayinka Oyebola & Co. (Chartered Accountants), with aiding and abetting a massive securities fraud perpetrated by… 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 Multiple Individuals and Entities in Relationship Investment Scams

On September 17, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC“) charged five entities and three individuals in connection with two relationship investment scams involving fake crypto asset trading platforms NanoBit and CoinW6, respectively. The SEC’s two complaints… Read More

Commissioner Mark Uyeda Dissents in Unregistered Dealer SEC Enforcement Action

Over the past few years, we have closely followed the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) as it has brought a parade of actions against lenders that purchase variable-rate convertible notes from public companies.  11/17/2017… Read More

Mullen Automotive (MULN): What to Do About Serial Reverse Splitters

At noon on September 13, 2024—Friday the 13th—Mullen Automotive (MULN) announced a 1:100 reverse stock split to become effective on September 17 at 12:01 a.m. The news did not come as a surprise to shareholders. MULN had held… 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

Court Vacates Order in Unregistered Dealer, Crown Bridge Partners Case

On August 19, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second District in New York ruled in the case of Darkpulse, Inc., Social Life Network, Inc. and Redhawk Holdings Corp. v. Crown Bridge Partners LLC and… Read More

GHS Investments LLC and its owners, Mark Grober, Sarfraz Hajee and Matthew Schissler, settle with SEC – agree to pay disgorgement and fines and surrender remaining notes, warrants and stock.

On August 19, 2024, GHS Investments, LLC (“GHS”) and its owners, Mark Grober, Sarfraz Hajee and Matthew Schissler, came to a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC“), agreeing to pay disgorgement and fines and surrender… Read More

SEC Charges OTC Link LLC with Failing to File Suspicious Activity Reports

On August 12, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC“) announced charges against OTC Link LLC, a New York-based broker-dealer, for failing to file numerous reports of suspicious financial transactions, known as Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), for a… 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

Meta Materials (MMAT) Declares Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

On Friday, August 9, 2024, Meta Materials Inc. (MMAT) filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This turn of events was reported only in a Form 8-K filed with the SEC; no press release or announcement on the company website… Read More

SEC Charges Ideanomics, its former Chairman and CEO, Zheng (Bruno) Wu, current CEO, Alfred Poor, and former CFO, Federico Tovar with Accounting and Disclosure Fraud

On August 9, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC“) announced settled fraud charges against Ideanomics, Inc., formerly known as Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc., and its former Chairman and CEO, Zheng (Bruno) Wu, for misleading the public… Read More