On November 14, 2023, the SEC announced its enforcement results for fiscal year 2023, which ended on September 30, reporting the following key metrics and highlights...more
The SEC has settled several cases of improper celebrity crypto endorsements over the past several years. The most recent example involved NBA hall of famer Paul Pierce, also known as the “Truth.” The crux of the SEC’s...more
The SEC Division of Examinations recently published a risk alert summarizing observations from exams of registered investment advisers and broker-dealers related to compliance with Reg. S-ID, which is generally designed to...more
12/14/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Customer Information ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Identity Theft ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulation S-ID ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On November 15, 2022, the SEC announced its enforcement results for fiscal year 2022, which ended on September 30, reporting the following key metrics and highlights...more
The SEC and CFTC recently charged 11 large financial institutions and their affiliates for failing to collect, monitor, and preserve communications over WhatsApp and other messaging services. These settlements follow a...more
10/7/2022
/ Affiliates ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Government Investigations ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investment Adviser ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Social Media ,
WhatsApp
CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero recently criticized the agency’s longstanding practice of settling enforcement cases without seeking admissions of wrongdoing (so-called “no-admit/no-deny” settlements). She suggests...more
The SEC recently brought fraud charges against Sterlington, Louisiana and its former mayor and separately against Rochester, New York and its former executives and Rochester’s municipal advisors and principals/owners...more
9/1/2022
/ Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Municipalities ,
Rule 10(b) ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations
On July 21, 2022, the SEC charged three individuals with insider trading of digital assets via a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding crypto assets being made available on a United States-based digital...more
7/25/2022
/ Criminal Conspiracy ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wire Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a broker-dealer and five of its registered representatives with violating Regulation Best Interest (“Reg. BI”) related to recommendations and sales of an unrated,...more
After years of relative silence related to variable annuity exchanges on the regulatory front, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced last week settled charges against RiverSource Distributors, Inc...more
On May 4, 2022, FINRA announced that it had fined two FINRA-registered funding portals a combined $1.75 million for failing to comply with securities laws and rules designed to protect crowdfunding investors. Funding portals...more
5/12/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Crowdfunding ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fines ,
Funding Portal ,
Internal Controls ,
JOBS Act ,
Regulation CF ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Exchange Act
On February 15, 2022, the SEC announced settlements with 12 broker-dealers and investment advisers for failing to satisfy their Form CRS obligations. These settlements come on the heels of 27 settlements last year for similar...more
There is little doubt that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is making cybersecurity a top priority. SEC Chair Gary Gensler told a Senate committee on Tuesday, September 14, 2021 that the agency is developing a...more
9/16/2021
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Breach Plans ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Information Security ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Firms ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation S-P ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On March 9, 2021, SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw indicated that the SEC should take a tougher stance regarding corporate wrongdoers. In a virtual conference before the Council of Institutional Investors, Crenshaw conveyed...more
The SEC, in one of the Commission’s final acts under the leadership of Chair Jay Clayton, approved enforcement action aimed at Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”) and two of its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. The...more
This alert provides a brief discussion of the practice of using unregistered “finders” in the context of a private securities offering. We provide background on the process, discuss various risks and considerations, and...more
8/4/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Raising ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Finders ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Private Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Brokers ,
Unregistered Securities
Never one to hold back, especially when it comes to crypto and blockchain matters, SEC Commissioner Peirce recently explained her views on the SEC’s settlement with Telegram and the agency’s approach to regulating the crypto...more