SEC Charges 36 Firms for Fraudulent Municipal Bond Offerings
The SEC filed its first enforcement actions against 36 municipal underwriting firms under the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative. The MCDC is a voluntary self-reporting program. It aims to correct fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions in municipal bond offering documents. For actions that spanned from 2010 to 2014, 36 firms were charged with violations of […]
SEC Charges Financial Advisor with Stealing $20 Million from Clients
Financial advisor was accused of stealing at least $20 million from clients to fund his own private accounts. He then misused the majority of the money in extremely unsuccessful options trading. The SEC alleges that a private client advisor misused his position by convincing bank customers to withdraw large amounts of money from their accounts […]
SEC Freezes Ponzi-Like Scheme by Capital Fund Manager in Twitter Stock Sales
The SEC alleges a venture capital fund manager stole funds from one account to cover lost profits in another account in a Ponzi-like act. The capital fund manager, Gregory Gray, Jr., and his firms, Archipel Capital LLC and BIM Management LP, are charged with stealing money from three investment funds to pay fabricated returns to […]
Friends of Cooper Tire Charged with Insider Trading
Two friends were charged by the SEC for wrongly profiting from inside trading after hearing unpublished news of a proposed acquisition of Cooper Tire and Rubber Company by Apollo Tyres Ltd. The SEC filed a complaint in a U.S. District Court, charging fraudulent insider trading against Amit Kanodia, an equity investor and Iftikar Ahmed, a […]
Former Company Officer Awarded $500,000 for Whistleblowing Fraud Case
Officers, directors, trustees, or partners who hear about a fraud through another employee are not eligible for a whistleblower award until 120 days after the employee has failed to notify the SEC. This case is the first time an officer earned a whistleblower award under these conditions. Andrew Ceresney, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement Director, […]
Companies Barred from Silencing Whistleblowers in Confidentiality Agreements
KBR Inc., a global technology and engineering firm with its headquarters in Houston, TX, was charged with violating whistleblower protection Rule 21F-17, which forbids companies from taking any actions to obstruct employees from reporting to the SEC any potential securities violations. KBR produced a confidentiality statement that was to be signed by employees in certain […]
Canadian Trader Charged for Short Selling U.S. Stocks
The SEC filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in San Francisco alleging that Andrew Evans, a Canadian trader at his firm, Maritime Asset Management, illegally shorted U.S. stocks from December 2010 until May 2012. Evans will pay more than $1 million in settlement charges. Evans allegedly sold stocks at a high market price with […]
Investment Adviser Charged With Defrauding Retired Teachers
A Miami broker defrauded investors by siphoning money from retirees’ investments through a Ponzi scheme. The SEC alleges the adviser conducted a Ponzi scheme with money he raised for the Sterling Investment Fund, which he fraudulently claimed invested in mortgages and properties in Florida and Georgia. Many of the adviser’s investors were public servants such […]
Broker-Dealers Fined for Wrongful Bond Trades
Broker-Dealers Fined for Bond Trades Violations The SEC charged nearly two dozen companies and individuals who bought and sold securities for a Chicago-based trading firm without registering as a broker-dealer with the SEC as required under the federal securities laws. The securities laws regulating broker-dealer registration ensure the protection of investors by allowing the SEC […]
SEC Gives Award To Whistleblower
Whistleblower Gets Award In the SEC’s first retaliation case, a whistleblower will be awarded 30 percent of the amount collected by the SEC during the charge. The SEC recently established a whistleblower program that encourages whistleblowers to report key information to help the SEC enforce actions. Through the whistleblower program, the SEC awards whistleblowers between […]