SEC Charges David Loflin in Greenway Design Pump-and-Dump

The SEC charged David Loflin on April 22,2019, for his role in a pump-and-dump scheme in the stock of Greenway Design Group, Inc., a Phoenix, Arizona company that was secretly controlled by David Loflin’s now-deceased business partner. According to… Read More

Regulation A Form 1-A Offering Circular Disclosures – Going Public Lawyers

Regulation A Form 1-A Offering Statements require line item disclosure of information about the issuer and the offering. Form 1-A is subject to a full review by the SEC.

Rule 506(c) Accredited Crowdfunding Offering Requirements – Crowdfunding Attorneys

Rule 506(c) is the most commonly used exemption of the Regulation D of the Securities Act. Rule 506(c) allows the issuer to use general solicitation and advertising so long as sales are only made to purchasers who the issuer verifies as an “accredited investor”.

SEC Charges Kimberly Sredich with Misappropriation Scheme

On April 18, 2019, the SEC charged Kimberly Sredich, a Michigan resident, with misappropriating funds from brokerage customers of a registered broker-dealer with which she was associated. The SEC’s complaint alleges that between 2014 and 2018, Kimberly Sredich… Read More

Regulation A l The Colossal Exemption l Securities Lawyer 101

Overview of the Regulation A Exemption The Regulation A offering exemption provides investors with more investment choices and issuers with more capital raising options during their going public transactions. Regulation A is mandated by Title IV of the… Read More

SEC Charges Yuh-Yue Chen, a California Engineer with Insider Trading

The SEC announced  on April 18,2019, the filing of insider trading charges against Yuh-Yue Chen, a former engineer at Skyworks Solutions, Inc., a Massachusetts-based company with executive offices and a design center in Irvine, California that designs, manufactures… Read More

SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Joseph Meli and Parties involved in Ticket Resale Scams

On April 11, 2019, two federal court judges entered final judgments against Joseph Meli, a New York City man, and six of his companies, in connection with two SEC cases that charged Joseph Meli with operating multi-million dollar… Read More

What is Form 211? Rule 15c-211, Sponsoring Market Maker Requirements

Locating a sponsoring market maker to file the Form 211 under Rule 15c-211 has become a challenging step in the going public process.

SEC Charges Woodbridge Directors, Ivan Acevedo and Dane Roseman with Fraud

On April 11, 2019, the SEC charged two former directors of investments at Woodbridge Group of Companies LLC for their roles in its massive Ponzi scheme. The defendants, California-based Ivan Acevedo and Dane Roseman, were separately arrested and… Read More

SEC Charges Arif Naqvi and Dubai-Based Advisory Firm

On April 11, 2019, the SEC charged Arif Naqvi and Abraaj Investment Management Limited, a Dubai-based investment advisory firm, with misappropriating funds from a private equity fund client. The SEC alleges that Arif Naqvi and his firm raised… Read More

SEC Charges Investment Adviser, Gonzalo Ortiz with Securities Fraud

The SEC filed a civil injunctive action on April 10,2019, charging a New Jersey resident, Gonzalo Ortiz with defrauding an investor by lying about his trading success, concealing trading losses, and misappropriating funds. The SEC’s complaint, filed in… Read More

SEC Charges Fifteen Unregistered Brokers for Illegal Offering of Intertech Solutions

On April 9,2019, the SEC charged fifteen individuals with acting as unregistered brokers or aiding-and-abetting such activity in connection with Intertech Solutions, Inc.’s fraudulent and unregistered securities offerings. The SEC’s complaints allege that Alexander Bevil, Richard Bohnsack, Daniel… Read More

SEC Charges Former Seaworld Associate General Counsel, Paul Powers with Insider Trading

On April 10, 2019, the SEC charged Paul Powers, a former senior lawyer at SeaWorld Entertainment Inc with insider trading based on nonpublic information that the company’s revenue would be better than anticipated for the second quarter of… Read More

Final Judgment Against Robert DePalo, a Broker Charged with Stealing from Investors

On February 5, 2019, the SEC obtained a final judgment against a New York-based broker, Robert DePalo who was charged with orchestrating a $6.5 million offering fraud. In May 2015, the SEC charged Robert DePalo with defrauding over twenty investors… Read More

SEC Charges College Official for Fraudulently Concealing Financial Troubles from Investors

On March 28, 2019, the SEC charged Keith Borge, the former controller of a New York-based not-for-profit college with defrauding municipal securities investors by fraudulently concealing the college’s deteriorating finances. According to the SEC’s complaint, in recent years,… Read More

SEC Shuts Down Fraudulent Investment Advisor Who Was Targeting the Israeli-American Community

The SE announced on April 1, 2019 that it had halted an ongoing investment fraud by Investment Advisor Motty Mizrahi targeting members of the Jewish community, primarily in the Los Angeles, California region. The SEC filed an emergency… Read More

SEC Charges Investment Adviser with Long-Running Securities Fraud

On March 22, 2019, the SEC charged registered investment adviser Direct Lending Investments, LLC with a multi-year fraud that resulted in approximately $11 million in over-charges of management and performance fees to its private funds, as well as… Read More

SEC Charges Reverse Merger Shell Brokers, Tiber Creek and James Cassidy

On March 26, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced settled actions against Reverse Merger Shell Brokers, James K. McKillop, attorney James M. Cassidy, and Cassidy’s firm Tiber Creek Corp.  The agency accused both men of acting… Read More

SEC Settles with James K. McKillop, Unregistered Public Shell Company Broker

On March 26, 2019 the SEC filed settled charges against recidivist James K. McKillop for acting as an unregistered broker and for failing to timely file required beneficial ownership forms in connection with his position at Tiber Creek… Read More

SEC Speaks Reverse Mergers – Going Public

On March 8, 2019, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton and Brett Redfearn, Director of the agency’s Division of Trading and Markets, spoke at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business in New York City.  They addressed… Read More

Former COO Fraudulently Caused Advisory Firm to Overbill Clients

The SEC filed on March 28, 2019 charges against the former Chief Operating Officer (COO), Richard Diver of a Commission-registered investment adviser for aiding and abetting the advisory firm’s actions to overbill its clients as part of a… Read More

SEC Halts Ponzi Scheme Targeting Vietnamese Investors

The SEC announced fraud charges and an asset freeze on March 18, 2019, against the operators of a $25 million Ponzi scheme falsely promising high annual returns with minimal to no risk to investors in the Vietnamese community of Orange… Read More

What is a NYSE Control Company Anyway? NYSE Attorneys

Public Companies that qualify as a “Controlled Company” with securities listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ) or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), must comply with the exchange’s continued listing standards to maintain their listings. Nasdaq and the NYSE have adopted qualitative listing standards.  Companies that do not comply with these corporate governance requirements may lose their listing status.

SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Investment Adviser, Goldsky Asset Management

On January 2, 2019, a federal district court entered final consent judgments against an Australia-based investment adviser, Goldsky Asset Management, LLC, and its owner, Kenneth Grace, for making false and misleading statements about its business in filings with… Read More

The Bad Actor Rule of Rule 506(d) – Securities Lawyer 101

Rule 506(c) is not available to certain bad actors. The bad actor rule prohibits an issuer from relying on the exemption if the issuer or certain other persons are subject to certain “Disqualifying Events”.

SEC Charges Texas Radio Host for Ponzi Scheme Targeting Elderly Investors

The SEC announced on March 12, 2019 that it has charged Texas resident William Neil “Doc” Gallagher-the self-styled “Money Doctor” featured on three Dallas-area radio stations-in an emergency action to shut down a $19.6 million Ponzi scheme targeting… Read More

Do State Blue Sky Laws Apply To Rule 506(c) Offerings? Going Public Lawyers

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Issuers are often unaware of the state laws that apply to their private placements prior to completion of their going public transactions. Federal securities laws require that the purchase or sale of a security… Read More

SEC Settles with Joseph Frank Vacante, Biotech Insider Trader

The SEC charged  on February 21, 2019, Joseph Frank Vacante, a former employee of a biotech company with insider trading on confidential information regarding the company’s withdrawal of certain products from consideration by the U.S. FDA. Joseph Frank… Read More

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Joseph Frank Vacante, Former Broker for Defrauding Customers

On March 1, 2019, a federal district court entered a final consent judgment against broker, William Gennity who was charged with defrauding customers by making unsuitable and unauthorized trades and churning customers’ accounts that enriched the broker at… Read More

SEC Announces Settlement Against Former Investment Adviser, James Polese

On February 22,2019 the SEC announced  the entry of a final judgment against James Polese, a former investment adviser at a large financial institution who was charged with misappropriating client funds. On January 31, 2018, the Commission filed… Read More