Securities Lawyers Gone Wild l Three-Time Felon & Lawyer Indicted
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 6, 2014, Texas attorney Richard Plato was indicted for mail fraud and securities fraud. Plato is a disbarred attorney who has been convicted in three separate criminal cases, including money laundering and… Read More
Fund Manager Brian Callahan Pleads Guilty In $96 Million Ponzi Scheme
On April 29, 2014, Brian Callahan pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud for operating a $96 million Ponzi scheme through his various offshore investment funds. Pursuant to his plea agreement… Read More
New York State Prepares to Regulate Bitcoin By: Brenda Hamilton, Attorney
Securities Lawyer 101.com The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has stated that it will consider proposals for a regulated virtual currency exchange to better protect consumers and prevent money-laundering. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin continue to grow… Read More
SEC Obtains Preliminary Injunction Against John Babikian
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 20, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) was granted an injunction imposing an asset freeze against penny stock promoter, John Babikian. Babikian is charged with securities fraud. The Court stated,… Read More
SEC Issues Stop Order For Comp Service’s Registration Statement
On April 23, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a stop order to prevent a Northern California-based company from issuing stock after including false and misleading information in its amended registration statement for an initial public… Read More
SEC Charges Chris Choi & Poker Player Danny Kuo
On April 23, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission(“SEC”) filed insider trading charges against a former accounting manager at Nvidia Corp. who tipped a friend with confidential company information that set in motion a chain of tipping and illegal… Read More
SEC Charges Robert Vitale l Posted by Brenda Hamilton Attorney
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 23, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed fraud charges against a former Florida-based stock promoter currently serving a two-year prison sentence for lying to SEC investigators. The SEC’s complaint filed in U.S…. Read More
SEC Charges Hedge Fund Manager
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 4, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit in United States District Court in Dallas, Texas, alleging that, from October 2009 to June 2012, Matthew D. Sample of San Diego, California… Read More
SEC Charges Dr. Loretta Itri with Insider Trading of Genta
Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney On April 21, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged a former biopharmaceutical company executive and two others with insider trading on confidential information about the company’s key developmental drug. The company’s… Read More
SEC Guidance on Rule 147 Intrastate Offerings & Crowdfunding
On April 10, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a revised compliance and disclosure interpretation (“C&DIs”) and provided two new questions concerning crowdfunding under the JOBS Act and the intrastate exemption provided by Rule 147 under… Read More
Contemporaneous Private & Public Offerings l Going Public Lawyers
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Issuers often require capital during the going public process for their operations until their registration statement on Form S-1 is declared effective. The SEC’s integration doctrine addresses the circumstances under which an issuer can raise capital privately… Read More
SEC Brings Insider Trading Charges in Connection With Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
On April 17, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged a former employee of BP p.l.c. and a senior responder during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill with insider trading in BP securities based on confidential information… Read More
SEC Charges Telexfree in Pyramid Scheme Immigrants l By Brenda Hamilton Attorney
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 17, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced it filed charges against the Massachusetts-based operators of a large pyramid scheme that mainly targeted Dominican and Brazilian immigrants in the U.S. … Read More
The Use of Testimonials in Social Media by Investment Advisers
Generally, SEC rules prohibit investment advisers from using testimonials in their advertisements. In the past several years, the SEC has encountered a number of questions concerning investment advisers’ use of social media. Social media has facilitated consumers’ ability… Read More
Forex Scams 101 l Brenda Hamilton, Attorney
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) warn that off-exchange forex trading is at best extremely risky, and at worst, outright fraud. Forex scams are on the… Read More
Section 302 and 906 Certifications l Brenda Hamilton Attorney
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Chief Executive Officers (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officers (“CFO”) of public companies must certify the issuer’s annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Each issuer must also have disclosure controls… Read More
The Laws That Apply to Finders l Securities Lawyer 101
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Companies seeking capital are frequently approached by finders who offer to locate investors in exchange for a fee. This is particularly true in going public transactions. Most finders are not registered as broker-dealers with… Read More
U.S. Issues Indictment Against Caribbean Money Laundering Operators
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Joshua Vandyk, a U.S. citizen, and Eric St-Cyr and Patrick Poulin, Canadian citizens, were indicted for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on March 24,… Read More
Summary Financial Information in Form S-1 Registration Statements
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Under the JOBS Act, an Emerging Growth Company may provide two years of summary financial information in its SEC registration statement or for the period from the date of the company’s inception, if shorter, and… Read More
Form S-1 Risk Factor Disclosures l Securities Lawyer 101
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog The Securities Act of 1933 is often called the “truth in securities” law. It has two basic objectives: to require that investors receive financial and other important information about securities being offered for sale,… Read More
SEC Suspends Grow Life l PHOT
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 10, 2014, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced the trading suspension, pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), of trading of the securities of GrowLife,… Read More
Beware of False Claims About Registration Statements
Securities Lawyer 101 The SEC issued a recent investor alert to warn the public about potentially fraudulent investment schemes that involve individuals or firms misrepresenting that they have filed registration statements with the SEC. Investors should be careful… Read More
Criminal Prosecution in Corporate Hijackings
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog The Justice Department has selectively pursued criminal charges against fraudsters using corporate hijackings for illegal takeovers of publicly traded shell companies. In many instances, a transfer agent have been charged in connection with the schemes. Recent… Read More
Corporate Hijackings & The Assault On Small Companies
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog Corporate hijackings, also known as corporate identity theft, of public shell companies has been around for more than a decade. It is a growing method used by fraudsters to acquire control of publicly traded shell companies to use in reverse… Read More
SEC Charges Joseph Signore in Ponzi Scheme
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 8, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced fraud charges and an asset freeze against the operators of a South Florida-based Ponzi scheme targeting investors through YouTube videos and selling them
SEC Charges Empire Stock Transfer l Securities Lawyer 101 Blog
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 8, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced enforcement actions against two leaders at a Las Vegas-based transfer agent firm who were responsible for disclosure failures in registration forms filed with the… Read More
SEC Settles Fictitious Offering Case Against Mia Baldassari
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on March 4, 2014, Judge Rosemary Collyer entered a final judgment against relief defendant Mia Baldassari. The SEC’s complaint alleged that Baldassari received $24,500 in investor… Read More
SEC Charges Firm with Spoofing & Layering
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 4, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Joseph Holmdel and others, including a New Jersey based brokerage firm, with manipulative trading of publicly traded stocks through an illegal practice known as “layering”… Read More
SEC Charges Two Friends With Insider Trading of Chicago Bridge & Iron
Securities Lawyer 101 Blog On April 4, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged two friends with insider trading on confidential information from an investment banker about an impending transaction between engineering and construction companies.
