SEC Awards Whistleblowers For Reporting Securities Fraud

On January 22, 2020, the  Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)  announced two whistleblower awards in connection with two separate SEC  enforcement actions.  Both whistleblowers provided significant information that helped the SEC shut down two separate fraudulent schemes involving… Read More

Blockchain of Things Inc. (BCOT) Charged by SEC for Unregistered ICO

Blockchain technology company Blockchain of Things Inc. (BCOT) settled charges brought against them by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 18, 2019, for conducting an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO). The New York-based startup Blockchain of… Read More

Ulrick Debo and Kenneth Ciapala Charged By DOJ and SEC

The Boston and New York SEC and DOJ Charge Ulrik Debo and Kenneth Ciapal and Others The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ} charged Ulrik Debo, Kenneth Ciapala, Kenneth Ciapala, and a number… Read More

SEC Actions & Administrative Proceedings

Most public companies realize that the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) is a law enforcement agency.  Receiving an SEC subpoena is a new experience for most market participants. SEC Actions can involve a case in federal court or… Read More

Tim Leissner Banned for Life by SEC Due to FCPA Violations

Tim Leissner, former head of Asian Investment with Goldman Sachs, has been permanently banned from the securities industry by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) due to a scandal involving bribery and the Malaysian state fund 1MDB. According… Read More

SEC Updates PAUSE List of Firms Using Inaccurate Information

The SEC has updated its PAUSE list (Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities), “adding 23 soliciting entities, two impersonators of genuine firms, and 12 bogus regulators.” This is a great resource for investors, as it will help you to… Read More

SEC: Facebook to Pay $100M for Misleading Investors

After the election of 2016, a lot was made of “fake news” and Facebook’s role in spreading it. Part of this large controversy involved the consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which was run by Steve Bannon. Cambridge Analytica used… Read More

South Florida Securities Lawyer,Jan Atlas Charged with Fraud

Jan Atlas, a 74-year old attorney based in Ft. Lauderdale was charged on September 17, 2019, with “one count of securities fraud, in violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 77q(a) and 77x, in Case No. 19CR60258. … Read More

What is DTC? Going Public Securities Lawyer

Securities Law Blog The Depository Trust and Clear Corporation (DTCC), through its subsidiaries, provides clearing, settlement and information services for securities.  DTCC operates through 10 subsidiaries – each of which serves a specific segment and risk profile within… Read More

SEC Questions Starbucks’ Accounting Policies

Starbucks’ stock fell today after news broke that the Securities and Exchange Commission sent a letter questioning the way that Starbucks recognizes its revenue. New accounting guidelines were implemented at the end of 2018 that is affecting many… Read More

Form 8-A and Form 10 Registration Statements – Securities Lawyer 101

Form 10 and 8-A can be used to register both debt and equity securities. Upon effectiveness, the issuer becomes subject to SEC reporting requirements.  This is different from a Securities Act registration, in which a company registers a certain number of a class of securities (debt or equity) for a particular public distribution.

Public Company SEC Reporting Requirements – Form S-1 Disclosures

Once the SEC staff declares your company’s Securities Act registration statement on Form S-1 effective, the public company becomes subject to the SEC’s reporting requirements . 

Securities Offering Exemptions – SEC Concept Release

SEC Concept Release on Harmonization of Securities Offering Exemptions In the wake of the stock market crash of 1929, the public had lost confidence in the entirely unregulated U.S. markets. Congress sought to restore it by creating a… Read More

Dormant Shell Companies For Reverse Mergers Suspended by the SEC While Delinquent Filers Run Wild

Its object is to render useless and worthless dormant shell companies that might otherwise be hijacked, used in reverse mergers, and ultimately pumped and dumped. 

SEC Charges Lloyd Schuman with Repeated Insider Trading

The SEC charged on May 9, 2019, Lloyd Schuman and Dane Janes for insider trading and for repeatedly traded and tipped on confidential information that they obtained through their respective employers. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S…. Read More

SEC Charges Danny Williams Former Executive of a Truckload Freight Company with Accounting Fraud

On May 9,2019, the SEC charged Danny Williams, the former President of Quality Companies, LLC, a former subsidiary of Indianapolis-based Celadon Group Inc., with an accounting fraud that allowed Celadon to avoid disclosing substantial losses and misrepresent its… Read More

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Rocco Roveccio for Defrauding Customers

On May 3, 2019, a federal district court entered a final consent judgment against Rocco Roveccio, a broker who was charged with defrauding customers by making unsuitable and unauthorized trades and churning customers’ accounts, which enriched the broker… Read More

SEC Announces Fraud Charges in Ticket Resale Investment Scam

On April 29,2019, the SEC charged James Siniscalchi, a New York City man with continuing a previously charged scheme, stealing millions of dollars from investors who were allegedly falsely promised their funds would be used for the purchase and… Read More

SEC Obtains Asset Freeze in Connection with Alleged Insider Trading

The SEC announced on April 29,2019, the entry of an emergency court order freezing assets related to alleged insider trading that yielded approximately $2.5 million in profits in connection with the April 12, 2019 announcement that oil-and-gas conglomerate… Read More

SEC Charges Christopher Dougherty, an Investment Adviser with Running a Ponzi Scheme

On April 26, 2019, the SEC charged Christopher Dougherty and several entities he controlled, with operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded his investment advisory clients out of $7 million. The San Diego District Attorney’s Office separately announced criminal… Read More

SEC Charges Truckload Freight Company with Accounting Fraud

The SEC charged on April 25,2019, an Indianapolis-based Celadon Group Inc. with an accounting fraud that allowed the truckload freight company to avoid disclosing substantial losses and misrepresent its financial condition. In a complaint filed in federal court… Read More

Former Broker Zachary Berkey Ordered to Pay SEC Disgorgement and Penalties

On April 18, 2019, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, ordered a former broker, Zachary Berkey, to pay $106,000 in disgorgement, plus prejudgment interest, and $71,000 in civil penalties. The SEC charged… Read More

SEC Charges Eric Lyons For Misappropriation and Fraudulent Securities Offering

On April 23, 2019, the SEC obtained an emergency asset freeze and temporary restraining order to halt an ongoing fraudulent securities offering by Eric Lyons, a Massachusetts resident, in an attempt to conceal his misappropriation from certain hedge… Read More

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

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

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