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

Vergeous LLC, et al. Charged with Offering Fraud

On August 16, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that Vergeous LLC and Dream Team Partners LLC, two Florida-based video game development companies, and their principal have agreed to pay approximately $293,000 for misleading investors in video game… 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

Medicus Homecare Trading Suspension

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the temporary suspension of trading in the securities of Medicus Homecare Inc. (MDCR) commencing at 9:30 a.m. EDT on July 28, 2017 and terminating at 11:59 p.m. EDT on August 10,… Read More

CNK Global Trading Suspension

On July 28, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the temporary suspension of trading in the securities of CNK Global, Inc. (a/k/a American Life Holding Co., Inc.) (ALFE) commencing at 9:30 a.m. EDT on July 28,… Read More

Joey Dodson Charged with Fraud

On July 26, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced fraud charges against Joey Dodson, the founder of a collection of businesses known as Citadel Energy, which provided fluid management solutions to the oil and gas industry in… Read More

Whistleblower Receives $2.5 Million Reward

On July 25, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an award of nearly $2.5 million to an employee of a domestic government agency whose whistleblower tip helped launch an SEC investigation and whose continued assistance enabled… Read More

Alanah, Ascenergy and Gabaldon Final Judgement

On June 12, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it has obtained a final judgment against Ascenergy LLC, Joseph Gabaldon, and Alanah Energy, LLC. The SEC’s complaint alleges that, since at least 2014, Ascenergy and Gabaldon engaged… Read More

SEC Files Second Subpoena Against Andrew Coldicutt

On July 21, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it has filed a subpoena enforcement action against Andrew Coldicutt and the Law Offices of Andrew Coldicutt. According to the SEC’s application and supporting papers, filed… 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

Flowers and Nevett Charged with Fraud

On July 19, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced fraud charges against Flowers and Nevett, two California men, and a company behind an alleged scheme to manipulate the stock prices of two shell companies. The SEC alleges… Read More