Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Securities
-
January 17, 2025
Par Funding's Fraud Caused $288M In Losses, Pa. Judge Says
Par Funding caused $288 million in losses stemming from a scheme to defraud investors who poured money into its cash advance business, a Pennsylvania federal judge said Friday, days after holding an evidentiary hearing where the government and the defendants sparred over dueling loss amounts.
-
January 17, 2025
SEC Fines Transamerica $2.9M Over Retirement Biz Conflicts
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday fined registered investment adviser Transamerica Retirement Advisors LLC $2.9 million to settle claims it concealed conflicts of interest generated by Transamerica's incentive compensation payments to representatives.
-
January 17, 2025
Feds Say Pa. Investment Adviser Stole $20M From Clients
A Pennsylvania investment adviser's alleged misappropriation of more than $20 million worth of client funds has landed him criminal charges and civil enforcement action from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
-
January 17, 2025
FirstEnergy Execs Hit With RICO Charges Over Bribe Scandal
Two former executives of FirstEnergy Corp. have been hit with federal racketeering charges over their alleged scheme to bribe Ohio House of Representatives members for a billion-dollar bailout that has drawn scrutiny from government agencies and led to long prison sentences for others involved in the scandal.
-
January 17, 2025
CFPB, Student Loan Co. Ink $2.25M Deal Over Debt Practices
The National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts agreed to pay $2.25 million to resolve the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's suit accusing it of harming borrowers through unfair collection tactics on private student loan debts, according to a joint motion to approve the stipulated judgment filed in Delaware federal court.
-
January 17, 2025
Crypto Coder Sues Feds To Block 'Money Transmitter' Label
Crypto policy think tank Coin Center is supporting one of its fellows in suing the federal government over its allegedly "mistaken view" of how criminal money transmission statutes apply to crypto software.
-
January 17, 2025
Michigan Justices Won't Answer Securities Test Issue
The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday denied an appeal from a developer asking justices to find a state law test rather than a federal one should be used to determine if a promissory note is a security, leaving in place a ruling that keeps the developer liable for notes issued in a $6 million project.
-
January 17, 2025
SEC Says Food Tech Startup Overstated Revenue By $550M
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday fined venture-backed food technology startup GrubMarket $8 million for allegedly misleading investors by overstating revenue by more than $550 million, with faulty accounting that regulators say the company should have known was unreliable.
-
January 17, 2025
LPL Fined $18M Over Lax Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday fined LPL Financial LLC $18 million to settle claims that the firm's anti-money laundering program suffered from significant shortcomings, including the failure to close high-risk accounts such as cannabis-related and international accounts.
-
January 17, 2025
Lyft Shareholder Suit Over Earnings Report Error Tossed
A California federal judge tossed a proposed class action Thursday against Lyft that alleged the ride-sharing giant defrauded investors when it issued an earnings release with an error that caused its stock to shoot up and then fall in under an hour when the error was corrected.
-
January 17, 2025
Nasdaq Pulls Board Diversity Rules After 5th Circ. Loss
Nasdaq has moved to formally undo its rules requiring that companies listed on the exchange disclose board diversity data, following a narrow, en banc ruling from the Fifth Circuit last month finding that the rules ran afoul of federal securities law.
-
January 17, 2025
Wells Fargo, BofA Units Pay SEC $60M Over Cash Sweeps
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday announced that Merrill Lynch and two units of Wells Fargo will pay a combined $60 million to settle claims they failed to implement preventative procedures concerning their cash sweep programs.
-
January 17, 2025
Drink Maker Celsius Settles SEC's Accounting Claims For $3M
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday fined beverage company Celsius Holdings Inc. $3 million to settle claims that it issued financial statements that were materially inaccurate and misleading due to misreported stock award information.
-
January 17, 2025
Energy Co. To Pay $19M SEC Fine Over Ohio Bribery Scandal
American Electric Power Inc. on Friday agreed to pay $19 million to resolve claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the utility company violated federal securities laws in connection with a bribery scandal embroiling the Ohio Legislature.
-
January 17, 2025
NYC Mall Lenders, Developer Want Foreign Investor Suit Nixed
Financial backers of a Staten Island mall project are asking a federal judge to toss a suit by foreign investors seeking damages, arguing that the investors are just trying to "claw back" whatever they can from others who lost even more money.
-
January 17, 2025
Ex-Mozambique Finance Head Gets 8½ Years In $2B Bond Rap
A Brooklyn federal judge sentenced Mozambique's former finance minister to 8½ years in prison Friday for facilitating a corrupt $2 billion loans-for-bribes deal, ordering him to forfeit $7 million and imposing time beyond the six years the defendant has been incarcerated.
-
January 17, 2025
Meet The Key Players In Tom Goldstein's Tax-Crimes Case
The tax-evasion indictment of U.S. Supreme Court expert lawyer and SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein features an eclectic cast of characters linked to his purported side career as a high-stakes poker player, including law firm partners, professional gamblers, a Texas billionaire, a movie producer and an actor.
-
January 17, 2025
SEC Fines Crypto Giant DCG, Ex-Genesis CEO $38.5M
Crypto venture capital firm Digital Currency Group and the ex-CEO of its bankrupt lending subsidiary Genesis Global Capital LLC agreed to a combined $38.5 million civil penalty Friday to settle claims they misled investors about Genesis' financial condition ahead of its collapse.
-
January 17, 2025
SEC Fines Unregistered Broker $3M Over Pre-IPO Work
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday fined an unregistered broker $3 million to resolve charges for illegally brokering transactions related to the stock of private companies that were expected to conduct initial public offerings.
-
January 17, 2025
Vanguard To Pay SEC, States $106M Over Surprise Tax Bills
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was joined by dozens of state regulators Friday in announcing a $106.4 million settlement with The Vanguard Group Inc. over claims that the company misled investors about the heightened capital gains taxes they would have to pay on certain retirement savings accounts.
-
January 16, 2025
Two Sigma Fined $90M Over Investment, Whistleblower Issues
New York-based Two Sigma has agreed to pay $90 million in fines and has already refunded $165 million to various funds and accounts to put to rest the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's allegations it failed to deal with known issues with its investment models, the SEC announced Thursday.
-
January 16, 2025
SEC's General Counsel Barbero To Exit As Trump Takes Office
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that General Counsel Megan Barbero will depart the agency on the day of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, capping a nearly two-year run that saw the agency face setbacks to its regulatory powers before conservative courts, but also notch some important wins.
-
January 16, 2025
NY Court Won't Revive Leon Black Sex Assault Suit
A New York appeals court ruled Thursday that a nondisclosure agreement did indeed bar a woman's sexual assault suit against former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black, finding that the NDA was not signed under duress and is therefore valid.
-
January 16, 2025
Crypto Firm DRW Wants Out Of SEC's 'Scorched Earth' Suit
The crypto-trading arm of DRW Holdings says it has become the latest target of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's "scorched-earth enforcement campaign against the crypto-asset industry" in its bid to dismiss a suit alleging it engaged in more than $2 billion in unregistered crypto transactions.
-
January 16, 2025
SEC Hit With Atty Fee Request Over Rare In-House Loss
A Michigan-based company that convinced the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to retroactively lift a trading suspension is now arguing that the agency should have to pay the company's attorneys because enforcement staff "lied and misled" in order to obtain the suspension.
Expert Analysis
-
With Esmark Case, SEC Returns Focus To Tender Offer Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent enforcement action against Esmark in connection with its failed bid to acquire U.S. Steel indicates the SEC's renewed attention under Rule 14e‑8 of the Exchange Act on offerors' financial resources as a measure of the veracity of their tender offer communications, say attorneys at MoFo.
-
What FDIC Expansion Of Change In Bank Control Could Mean
A recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal pertaining to the Change in Bank Control Act has the potential to create uncertainty around investments by mutual fund complexes in banking organizations, which represent a stable source of capital for the banking industry, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.
-
Can SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail Survive Post-Chevron?
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently in a showdown at the Eleventh Circuit over its authority to maintain a national market system and require that the industry spend billions to maintain its consolidated audit trail, a case that is further complicated by the Loper Bright decision, says Daniel Hawke at Arnold & Porter.
-
What's Inside Feds' Latest Bank Merger Review Proposals
Recent bank merger proposals from a trio of federal agencies highlight the need for banks looking to grow through acquisition to consider several key issues much earlier in the planning process than has historically been necessary, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
-
State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
-
Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits
Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
-
How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure
Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.
-
Making Sure Your Co. Isn't In The Next Section 13(f) Sweep
Enforcement actions taken against 11 institutional investment managers for alleged failures to file forms required by Section 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act serve as a reminder that firms should carefully monitor their obligations to avoid becoming the target of the next enforcement sweep, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
-
Series
Florida Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
With the implementation of H.B. 989, the third quarter of 2024 has been transformative for banking law and regulation in Florida, and this new law places a strong emphasis on fair access to banking, and prohibits ideologically or politically motivated decisions by financial institutions, says Sha’Ron James at Gunster.
-
8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney
A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.
-
How The 2025 Tax Policy Debate Will Affect The Energy Sector
Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming U.S. election, 2025 will bring a major tax policy debate that could affect the energy sector more than any other part of the economy — so stakeholders who could be affected should be engaging now to make sure they understand the stakes, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
-
Recent Securities Cases Highlight Risks In AI Disclosures
Increasing public disclosure about the use and risks of artificial intelligence, and related litigation asserting that such disclosures are false or misleading, suggest that issuers need to exercise great care with respect to how they describe the benefits of AI, say Richard Zelichov and Danny Tobey at DLA Piper.
-
3rd Circ. Hertz Ruling Highlights Flawed Bankruptcy Theory
The Third Circuit, in its recent Hertz bankruptcy decision, became the latest appeals court to hold that noteholders were entitled to interest before shareholders under the absolute priority rule, but risked going astray by invoking the flawed theory of code impairment, say Matthew McGill and David Casazza at Gibson Dunn.
-
Opinion
This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process
In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
-
Breaking Down CFTC's Novel Theory Driving Uniswap Action
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent enforcement action against Uniswap concerning digital asset liquidity appears to be a unilateral attempt to expand its regulatory authority in the absence of official congressional approval, putting forth a novel theory of liability that will likely be tested through litigation, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.