On July 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) made headlines announcing insider trading charges against 10 individuals across four separate cases, signaling an increased and renewed focus on...more
Significant parallel actions commenced this week by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) bring crypto fraud enforcement into the spotlight, with the SEC alleging that multiple...more
7/25/2022
/ Coinbase ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptoassets ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Wallets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
Howey ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Tokens ,
Securities Violations
Key Takeaways -
..In June 2022, the DOJ issued a Report recommending increased cooperation amongst international law enforcement to combat crimes involving digital assets.
..The Report identified characteristics...more
6/30/2022
/ Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
FATF ,
Information Reports ,
Law Enforcement
Key Takeaways -
..SEC enforcement actions related to crypto and cyber are expected to significantly increase with the additional 20 staff assigned to the Division of Enforcement unit dedicated to these industries....more
Key Takeaways -
..Banks and cryptocurrency exchanges need to update their BSA programs to account for the unique aspects of cryptocurrencies, detect and report related suspicious activity, and minimize the risk of...more
2/17/2022
/ BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Criminal Fines ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
FBI ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Policies and Procedures ,
U.S. Treasury ,
White Collar Crimes
Key Takeaways - Corporate enforcement and individual accountability are high priorities for new DOJ Criminal Division head Kenneth Polite. Companies should be proactive in implementing, monitoring, and improving their...more
Key Takeaways - The SEC and DOJ announce that they are focusing on individual and corporate accountability, including a renewed emphasis on lawyers and accountants as the first line of defense against misconduct....more
On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET” or “Team”) to tackle investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of...more
In a speech before the Aspen Security Forum on August 3, 2021, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) Chair Gary Gensler urged lawmakers to provide him with the power to police cryptocurrency trading,...more
Many companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”), whether as a public company, an investment adviser, or a broker-dealer, will undergo an inquiry or a formal investigation by the...more
On June 11, 2021, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a division of the Office of Management and Budget, released the Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions,[1] which includes...more
On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued a national security memorandum, “Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core National Security Interest.” The first national security memorandum of his presidency, it lays out...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is considering greatly limiting the affirmative defense that protects corporate executives against SEC prosecutions for insider trading claims when they buy or sell their...more
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Gary Gensler as the 33rd Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”). This change will bring forth a Democratic majority at the...more
4/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fraud ,
FSOC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
Introduction - On March 18, 2021, the Senate narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra, the former attorney general of California, as U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Secretary....more
3/30/2021
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Investigations ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
White Collar Crimes
The question of how to define the parameters of personal liability for compliance officers in the financial services industry has been around for several years. In a 2015 speech, then-SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney...more
In the past several years, the use and prevalence of virtual currency have increased exponentially. The proliferation of digital assets has changed the way goods and services are exchanged and has allowed for faster and...more
On Oct. 8 and 9, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) presented its annual program, The SEC Speaks in 2020. The Commission touted its virtual enforcement results, particularly in Chairman...more
On September 24, 2020, Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director David Clinton of the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts (SHH) were indicted on criminal neglect charges in what Attorney General Maura...more
On Sept. 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) adopted amendments to the rules that govern its whistleblower program in a 3-2 vote. Since the program’s inception 10 years ago, original...more
On August 14, 2020, the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) issued its first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) advisory opinion in almost six years....more
On the eve of the July 4th holiday, the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) quietly published the second edition of the...more
On June 22, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, which found that disgorgement awards that do not exceed a wrongdoer’s net profits (gross profits...more
7/2/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On June 1, 2020, the Criminal Division (the “Criminal Division”) of the Department of Justice (the “DOJ” or “Department”) issued revised guidance (the “June 2020 Guidance”) about how it will evaluate corporate compliance...more
On April 16, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced a $27 million whistleblower award, its largest award of 2020 and the sixth-highest whistleblower award since the inception of its whistleblower...more