Brown Investment Advisors Charged with Operating Three Offering Frauds

A settled civil injunctive action was filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against two Pennsylvania investment advisers, Kevin Brown and his father, George Brown, (collectively, the “Browns”), and several entities they managed, for conducting three offering frauds over the… Read More

John Williams Charged with Conducting Misappropriation Scheme and Offering Fraud

On October 20, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged John Clifford Williams with his involvement in a misappropriation scheme. The complaint alleges that Williams misappropriated and diverted more than $3.1 million illicit funds that he accumulated from… Read More

Court Reaches Final Judgement of Disgorgement and Civil Penalties Against Stock Fraudsters

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on October 26, 2015 that on October 23, 2015, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against two fraudsters, Joseph Catapano and… Read More

Why Operation Shell Expel Gets an F

Published on: Nov 5, 2015 Between January of 2000 and present, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has suspended or halted thousands of publicly traded companies under its highly publicized agenda known as Operation shell Expel.  Many were dormant… Read More

Settlement Reached in Vladimir Eydelman Insider Trading Case

On October 23, 2015 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement with a stockbroker who was previously charged with insider trading in advance of over a dozen pending corporate transactions. These charges found Vladimir Eydelman guilty of insider trading and claims… Read More

Darren Ofsink Indicted – Securities Lawyers Gone Wild

On November 4, 2015, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York announced that Darren Ofsink, a Manhattan attorney and founder of Ofsink LLC; Michael Morris, a registered broker and managing director of Halcyon Cabot Partners, Ltd…. Read More

Default Judgment Grants Full Relief Against Premiere Power and Its Chairman in Offering Fraud

On October 21, 2015 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on October 9, 2015, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered default judgments against Premiere Power, LLC and its Chairman,… Read More

Schedule 13D and 13G Filing Requirements Securities Lawyer 101 Q&A

Common Questions About Schedule 13D and 13G Filing Requirements For Public Companies In going public transactions, a company can register a class of securities and thereby become subject to the SEC’s reporting requirements by filing a Form 10… Read More

Keeping A Close Watch On Equity Crowdfunding

With equity crowdfunding now legal, we can expect to see the Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) keeping a close watch for unregistered broker dealers and funding portals. In an administrative proceeding a few weeks ago, the SEC ordered… Read More

What Is Wrong With Buying a Shell To Go Public?

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Between January of 2000 and present, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has suspended or halted thousands of publicly traded companies.  Many were dormant penny stock issuers suspended to prevent corporate hijackings by fraudsters… Read More

Donald Lester and His Private Firm Charged with Fraud

On October 16, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud and other charges against Donald Lester and his private equity firm, Rubicon Alliance, LLC (“Rubicon”). According to the SEC’s fraud complaint, from about January 2010 through December… Read More

Hedge Fund Manager Lonny Bernath Charged with Fraud

On October 13, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a hedge fund manager from Charlotte, Lonny Bernath, with defrauding investors in three hedge funds over several years. The SEC filed a complaint stating that between at least… Read More

SEC Obtains Summary Judgment Against Andrew Farmer in Pump-And-Dump Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on October 9, 2015, that on October 7, 2015, it secured a summary judgment on all of its claims against Andrew Farmer in a market manipulation case involving the securities of Chimera… Read More

SEC Charges Nicolas Zanen and His Friend with Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on October 9, 2015 that it has charged Nicolas Zanen, Vice President of Trading at a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, Inc., and his college friend, Francis van Steenberge, with insider trading in… Read More

Equity Crowdfunding Approved – Going Public Attorney

Equity Crowdfunding was adopted pursuant to Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Act (JOBS Act). The rule allows companies to raise up to $1 million every 12 months in a crowdfunding campaign using an online funding portal or registered broker-dealer.

SEC Issues Trading Suspension of Locan & American Power Corp

On October 30, 2015, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced the temporary suspension of trading in the securities of American Power Corp. (AMPW) and Locan, Inc. (LOCN).  The SEC trading suspension commenced at 9:30 a.m. EDT on… Read More

What Disclosure Is Required By Rule 15c2-11?

Rule 15c2-11 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) governs the submission and publication of quotations by brokers and dealers for OTC equity securities. Specifically, the rule applies to a broker-dealer’s initiation or resumption of… Read More

SEC Wins Summary Judgment Against Allen Smith

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on October 8, 2015 that Judge Paul Barbadoro of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire entered summary judgment in favor of the SEC on its claims… Read More

SEC Addresses Equity Crowdfunding – Going Public Attorney

On October 30, 2015, three years after The JOBS Act became law, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will vote in an Open Meeting to consider whether to: adopt rules and forms related to the offer and sale… Read More

Court Enters Default Judgment Against James Erwin and Malom Group

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on October 8, 2015 that the United States District Court for the District of Nevada entered default judgments against Las Vegas-based James Erwin and his corporate entity, Las Vegas-based Joint Venture… Read More

SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Operators of a Ponzi Scheme

On October 8, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that the Court entered final judgments on September 28, 2015, against Garfield Taylor, Jeffrey King, Garfield Taylor, Inc. (“GTI”), Gibraltar Asset Management Group, LLC (“Gibraltar”) and The… Read More

SEC Charges Oscar Wu With Settled Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 7, 2015 filed settled insider trading charges against Oscar Wu, a former portfolio manager at a New York-based investment adviser. The SEC claims that, during the course of his employment… Read More

Former Executives of OCZ Technology Group Charged with Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 6, 2015, charged two former top executives at OCZ Technology Group, Inc. for accounting failures at the now-bankrupt seller of computer memory storage and power supply devices. In a complaint filed in… Read More

SEC Charges Steve Chen With Fraud and Imposes Asset Freeze

On September 22, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed, under seal, fraud charges and, on September 28, obtained asset freezes against the operator of a worldwide pyramid scheme that falsely promised investors would profit from a… Read More

James Quay Found Guilty for Perjury and Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on October 5, 2015 that on September 28, 2015, Judge Richard Story of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia found James Quay guilty of criminal contempt… Read More

The SEC Charges Arizona Players with Embezzlement

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged five Arizona residents with embezzlement. Allegedly, these residents stole millions of dollars from investors to make car payments, buy clothes, and fund travel and entertainment at luxury resorts, casinos, and strip… Read More

Final Judgement Entered Against Amyot And Spencer Pharmaceutical

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced October 1, 2015 that on September 30, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued an order setting final judgments in an enforcement action filed in December 2012 against… Read More

Trade Secrets

On December 28, 2012, the Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act became law.  The Act amends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA) and expands the jurisdiction of federal courts in cases regarding the theft of trade secrets. The… Read More

Ranjan Mendonsa and Ammar Akbari Charged with Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on October 1, 2015 that on September 28, 2015, the Honorable Haywood Gilliam of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered a final judgement against defendants Ranjan Mendonsa… Read More

Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Wins Third Place In Best Legal Blog Contest

Our readers have spoken.  Securities Lawyer 101 written by Brenda Hamilton, a securities and going public attorney has won third place in overall winners in The Expert Institute’s Best Legal Blog Competition. From a field of more than 2,000 legal… Read More