SEC Charges Attorney Marc Celello
On October 5, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it filed fraud charges against an attorney Marc Celello based on his alleged participation in a Ponzi scheme. The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in… Read More
Richard Cody Indicted for Investment Adviser Fraud and Lying to the SEC
On October 5, 2017, Richard Cody, a former investment adviser and broker representative, whom the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has charged with defrauding Massachusetts retirees, has been indicted for deceiving and manipulating his former clients concerning the management of… Read More
Robert Stewart Receives Final Judgement
On September 28, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) obtained a final judgment against Robert Stewart, the former chief financial officer of a technology company and certified public accountant, who was charged, along with his son, with conducting… Read More
Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Lied About Sales Metrics
On September 22, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed fraud charges against Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, a Massachusetts-based bio-pharmaceutical company, that exaggerated how many new patients actually filled prescriptions for an expensive drug that was its sole source of… Read More
Woodbridge Ordered to Produce Corporate Documents
On September 21, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) obtained an order requiring the Woodbridge Group of Companies LLC, of Sherman Oaks, California, to produce the corporate documents of several company executives and employees, including the President and CEO…. Read More
Peter Chang Charged for Insider Trading
On September 20, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Peter Chang, the former CEO of a Silicon Valley-based fiber optics company, with insider trading in company stock by using secret brokerage accounts held in the names of… Read More
Mayank Gupta Settles Insider Trading Charges
On September 13, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that Mayank Gupta, a former auditor, has agreed to settle charges that he tipped his relative with inside information about a client on the verge of a… Read More
Scott Newsholme Charged with Stealing Investor Funds
On September 6, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Scott Newsholme, a New Jersey-based tax preparer and investment adviser, with stealing more than $1 million from clients to support his gambling habit and other personal expenditures. The… Read More
Louis Navellier Charged for False Performance Claims
On August 31, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced fraud charges against investment adviser Navellier & Associates, Inc. and its founder and chief investment officer, Louis Navellier. The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in Boston,… Read More
Leon Vaccarelli Charged With Fraud
On August 31, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Connecticut-based broker representative and investment adviser Leon Vaccarelli and his company with fraudulently persuading several elderly customers to invest with him and then spending their money on… Read More
Celator Pharmaceuticals Employees Charged With Insider Trading
On August 31, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged an accountant and three others with insider trading on market-moving news about Celator Pharmaceuticals, the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company where the accountant formerly worked. The SEC’s complaint, filed… Read More
Lek Securities Motion to Dismiss Denied
On August 25, 2017, the Honorable Denise L. Cote of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a motion by Lek Securities Corporation and its Chief Executive Officer, Samuel Lek, to dismiss the… Read More
Deerfield Management Company Agrees to Settle Charges
On Aug. 21, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that hedge fund advisory firm Deerfield Management Company L.P. has agreed to pay more than $4.6 million to settle charges that it failed to establish, maintain, and… Read More
Jeremy Drake Charged With Fraud
On Aug. 22, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged investment adviser Jeremy Drake with defrauding two clients, a high profile professional athlete and the athlete’s wife, by deceiving them about the investment advisory fees they were paying. … Read More
Beaumont Financing Authority Settles Charges
On Aug. 23, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that Beaumont Financing Authority, a municipal financing authority in Beaumont, California, and its then-executive director have agreed to settle charges that they made false statements about prior compliance… Read More
Adesh Tyagi Receives Final Judgement
On August 21, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has obtained a final judgment against Adesh Tyagi, the former CEO of a penny stock company charged with making false claims in press releases and engaging in manipulative trading in… Read More
Banca IMI Securities to Pay $35 Million
On Aug. 18, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that broker Banca IMI Securities Corp, an indirect, wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, has agreed to pay more than $35 million to settle charges… Read More
Daniel Rivas Center of Insider Trading Scheme
On August 16, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced insider trading charges against seven individuals, Daniel Rivas being one, who generated millions in profits by trading on confidential information about dozens of impending mergers and acquisitions. Data… Read More
KPMG Charged with Audit Failures
On Aug. 15, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that KPMG has agreed to pay more than $6.2 million to settle charges that it failed to properly audit the financial statements of an oil and gas company,… Read More
DiMaria and Gamsey Receive Final Judgements
On August 16, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it has obtained final judgments against DiMaria and Gamsey, two former executives of Bankrate Inc. In September 2015, the SEC charged the two executives, Edward DiMaria and… Read More
Final Judgement Obtained Against Louis Martin Blazer III
On August 10, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it has obtained a final judgment against Louis Martin Blazer III, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based financial adviser, accused of taking money without permission from the accounts of several… Read More
Thrift Savings Plan Used In Fraud Case
On July 31, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged four former Atlanta-area brokers with fraudulently inducing federal employees to roll over holdings from their federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) retirement accounts into higher-fee, variable annuity products. The… Read More
Charges Announced Against John Thomas Financial
On August 2, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced fraud and other charges against two individuals and John Thomas Financial, a related company, for their roles in a manipulative trading scheme involving Liberty Silver Corp., a… Read More
Final Judgement Obtained Against Andrew Farmer
On July 24, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it has obtained a final judgment against Andrew Farmer, whom the SEC charged with orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme involving a company that purportedly developed revolutionary technology to enable… Read More
Final Judgement Against Stephen Ferrone
On July 31, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that on July 28, 2017, an Illinois federal court entered a final judgment against Defendant Stephen Ferrone following an April 2016 jury verdict in the Commission’s favor…. Read More
SEC Charges Halliburton Company
On July 27, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Halliburton Company with violating the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) while selecting and making payments to a local… Read More
