The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, also referred to as SOX or as Sarbox, is a federal statute that requires specific corporate recordkeeping measures as well as financial reporting. It was passed in the aftermath of several huge...more
6/4/2024
/ Corporate Misconduct ,
Fraud ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Whistleblower Program was created in Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, which amended the Securities Exchange Act to include a whistleblower provision. It has since...more
5/7/2024
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Promoting securities, cryptocurrency, and other investment opportunities is fraught with legal risks. Individuals who engage in promotional activities must ensure that they have a clear understanding of the federal laws and...more
12/13/2023
/ Advertising ,
Brokers ,
Celebrities ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment ,
Marketing ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Promoters
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has conducted several publicized investigations focused on broker and investment adviser or advisor cherry-picking in recent years. Most recently, the SEC announced on August...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigates publicly-traded and privately-held companies for a broad range of statutory and regulatory violations. SEC investigations can target issues ranging from...more
4/4/2023
/ CEOs ,
Civil Liability ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Defense Strategies ,
Investigations ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Statutory Violations ,
Subpoenas ,
Wells Notice
Regulated securities firms need to take significant actions to ensure that their company is complying with the legal requirements set out by regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the...more
1/25/2023
/ Audit Reports ,
Auditors ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Whistleblowers
Allegations of unauthorized trading claims present significant risks for investment brokers and brokerage firms. In addition to investor arbitration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), brokers and...more
1/3/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investors ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Unauthorized Transactions
Find Out What Companies and Investment Firms Need to Know about the SEC’s Exam Priorities for 2023 -
Each year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) publishes its annual examination priorities. This report...more
12/20/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Firms ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers
Online cryptocurrency promotion—and promotion on social media in particular—has garnered national media attention in recent months. First, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had entered into a...more
12/7/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Investment ,
Investment Firms ,
Popular ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Transparency ,
Twitter ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) (15 U.S.C. § 78dd-1 et seq.) is a federal anti-bribery law that makes it unlawful for certain people to pay foreign government officials in order to conduct business abroad. While it...more
11/23/2022
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Securities litigation presents substantial risks for companies, firms, and individuals accused of violating federal law, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, or Financial Industry Regulatory Authority...more
Public companies in the United States are subject to a laundry list of federal laws and regulations. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is responsible for enforcing these laws and regulations, and it routinely...more
What is Tokenization?
Tokenization is the process of converting an asset into a token on the blockchain. It operates by dividing—or fractionalizing—the ownership of an asset (whether the asset is a piece of real estate or...more
5/17/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FinCEN ,
Income Taxes ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Contract ,
Investors ,
IRS ,
Registration Requirement ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Security Token Offering (STOs) ,
Tax Liability ,
Tokenization ,
Virtual Currency
What is a Digital Security Offering (DSO)?
Conducting digital security offerings (DSOs), or security token offerings (STOs) is time-consuming and can be quite complicated. You will need to consider factors such as whether...more
5/10/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Securities ,
Exemptions ,
Howey ,
Investors ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulation D ,
Regulation S ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Tokens ,
Security Token Offering (STOs) ,
White Papers
STOs and NFTs -
STOs stands for “security token offerings.” They involve an offering of digitalized securities such as stocks, bonds, or other token and coin projects. The difference between an IPO and an STO is that STOs...more
3/31/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Assets ,
Investment Contract ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Security Token Offering (STOs) ,
Utility Tokens
Section 206 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 is one of the many laws the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uses to combat investment fraud. Under Section 206, investment advisers can face enforcement action...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigates companies, brokerage firms, and individuals for a broad range of statutory and regulatory violations. These investigations can lead to civil or administrative...more
9/7/2021
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Churning ,
Defense Strategies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Evidence ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investigations ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Firms ,
Market Manipulation ,
Misappropriation ,
Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Statutory Violations ,
Subpoenas ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Wells Notice ,
Witness Statements
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) protects investors by enforcing the nation’s securities laws. It can investigate all forms of securities fraud, including fraud committed by securities issuers,...more
6/1/2021
/ Business Entities ,
Corporate Executives ,
Criminal Liability ,
Defense Strategies ,
Document Productions ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Internal Investigations ,
Investors ,
Privileged Communication ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Subpoenas ,
Testimony
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigates companies (and individuals) for a broad range of federal offenses. This includes offenses that are both civil and criminal in nature, and that can carry penalties...more
5/4/2021
/ Civil Liability ,
Corrective Actions ,
Criminal Liability ,
Defense Strategies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investigations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Subpoenas
For public and private companies in all industries, the risk of being targeted in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation is a very real concern. As new and innovative securities offerings continue to be...more
10/24/2020
/ Celebrity Endorsements ,
Compliance ,
Defense Strategies ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
Influencers ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) ,
Investment Fraud ,
Popular ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Scams ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Tokens ,
Securities Violations ,
Structured Financial Products ,
Virtual Currency
- A tone-at-the-top business culture with CEO leadership is a critical component of effective anti-corruption and anti-bribery policy implementation.
- CEO leadership helps set an example for lower management and company...more
7/24/2020
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
CEOs ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Duty to Preserve ,
Employee Training ,
Ethics ,
Failure to Comply ,
FBI ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Leadership ,
Meals-Gifts-and Entertainment Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Tone At The Top