SEC Proposes Rule Amendments to the Broker-Dealer Customer Protection Rule
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed amendments to Rule 15c3-3 (the Customer Protection Rule) to require certain broker-dealers to increase the frequency with which they perform computations of the net cash they owe to customers and other broker-dealers (known as PAB account holders) from weekly to daily. Net cash owed to customers and PAB account holders must be held in a special reserve bank account. “I am pleased to...
2023-07-12 12:34 PM EDT
SEC Adopts Money Market Fund Reforms and Amendments to Form PF Reporting Requirements for Large Liquidity Fund Advisers
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted amendments to certain rules that govern money market funds under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The amendments will increase minimum liquidity requirements for money market funds to provide a more substantial liquidity buffer in the event of rapid redemptions. The amendments will also remove provisions in the current rule that permit a money market fund to suspend redemptions...
2023-07-12 12:04 PM EDT
SEC Charges Merrill Lynch and Parent Company for Failing to File Suspicious Activity Reports
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 11, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and its parent company BAC North America Holding Co. (BACNAH) for failing to file hundreds of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from 2009 to late 2019. Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a $6 million penalty to settle the SEC charges and, in a parallel action, Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a separate $6 million fine to settle...
2023-07-11 12:30 PM EDT
SEC Charges Former Army Financial Counselor Who Defrauded Gold Star Family Members
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 7, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged former U.S. Army financial counselor Caz L. Craffy for defrauding Gold Star family members and others by engaging in unauthorized trading—including of life insurance and family survivor benefits they received following the death of an active duty service member—and for recommending excessive trades and higher risk strategies that did not match customers’ investment profiles. According to...
2023-07-07 11:13 AM EDT
SEC Charges "Smart" Window Manufacturer, View Inc., with Failing to Disclose $28 Million Liability
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 3, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against a California-based manufacturer of “smart” windows, View Inc., for failing to disclose $28 million in projected warranty-related liabilities to address a particular defect in its windows. The SEC decided not to impose civil penalties against View because the company self-reported the misconduct to the SEC, promptly undertook remedial measures, and cooperated with...
2023-07-03 9:10 AM EDT
SEC Charges Two Oregon Residents and Their Related Entities with $10 Million Ponzi-Like Scheme
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Oregon residents Robert D. Christensen and Anthony M. Matic, as well as several companies they controlled, with conducting a multi-year Ponzi-like scheme and misleading investors who purchased more than $10 million in promissory notes. According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least January 2018 through September 2022, Christensen and Matic used four entities that they founded – Foresee...
2023-06-30 1:33 PM EDT
SEC Charges Stockbroker and Friend with Insider Trading
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against Jordan Meadow, a registered representative for a New York-based broker-dealer, and Steven Teixeira, the Chief Compliance Officer of an international payment processing company, in connection with their trading based on material nonpublic information that Teixeira obtained from his girlfriend’s laptop while she was working at home during the COVID-19...
2023-06-29 1:25 PM EDT
SEC Charges Police Chief, Four Others in Connection with Insider Trading Before Pharmaceutical Merger
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed insider trading charges against five individuals, including a police chief in Dighton, Massachusetts, arising from trading before the announcement of a tender offer by Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. to acquire Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. in May 2020. Four of the defendants traded on nonpublic information obtained, directly or indirectly, from the fifth defendant, and realized more than $2.3...
2023-06-29 11:34 AM EDT
SEC Charges Former DWAC Board Member and Others for Insider Trading in DWAC Securities
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed insider trading charges against Bruce Garelick, a former board member of Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC); Michael Shvartsman and his firm Rocket One Capital LLC; and Gerald Shvartsman for trading in advance of DWAC’s October 2021 announcement that it had reached an agreement to acquire Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG)....
2023-06-29 11:27 AM EDT
SEC Charges Former Pfizer Statistician with Insider Trading Ahead of COVID-19 Announcement
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against Amit Dagar, a former Pfizer Inc. employee, and his close friend and business partner, Atul Bhiwapurkar, for trading in advance of the company’s November 5, 2021, announcement that a randomized, double-blind study of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, was successful. Following that announcement in which Pfizer’s CEO referred to the news as a...
2023-06-29 11:22 AM EDT
SEC Charges Former MusclePharm Executives with Accounting and Disclosure Fraud
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 27, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a settled complaint charging Las Vegas-based nutritional supplement company MusclePharm Corp.’s former Executive Vice President of Sales and Operations, Brian H. Casutto, former Vice President of Sales, Matthew J. Zucco, and former contract Chief Financial Officer, Kevin R. Harris, for engaging in improper revenue recognition practices to achieve revenue growth demanded by its former Chief...
2023-06-27 7:11 PM EDT
SEC Charges Florida Resident for Operating $112 Million Ponzi Scheme that Targeted Haitian-American Community
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 26, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Broward County, Florida resident Sanjay Singh and his trucking and logistics company, Royal Bengal Logistics Inc., with fraudulently raising approximately $112 million from as many as 1,500 investors through an unregistered securities offering that primarily targeted Haitian-Americans. The SEC’s complaint alleges that, from at least 2019 through 2023, Singh, through...
2023-06-26 4:22 PM EDT
SEC Charges Convicted Fraudster in Real Estate Ponzi Scheme
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 23, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Wilson Baston with defrauding numerous investors in a Ponzi scheme, in which he raised millions of dollars through dozens of transactions purportedly to fund real estate investments, but frequently used the money to instead pay off earlier investors and for personal expenses. In 2008, Baston pleaded guilty to deceiving hundreds of investors in a Ponzi scheme. According to the SEC’s...
2023-06-23 3:37 PM EDT
SEC Charges Investment Fund Founder William K. Ichioka with $25 Million Offering Fraud
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 22, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged William K. Ichioka, of New York, New York, with fraudulently raising $25 million from individual investors primarily in California and Oregon by making false claims about his investing success and promising large anticipated returns but instead using investor funds for gambling and to enrich himself. Ichioka has agreed to resolve the charges against him. According to the SEC’s complaint,...
2023-06-22 4:58 PM EDT
SEC Investor Advisory Committee to Discuss Private Funds and Outbound Investments to Countries of Concern, Digital Engagement Practices, and Audit Committee Workloads at June 22nd Meeting
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 21, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee will hold a virtual public meeting on June 22 at 10:00 a.m. ET. The meeting will be webcast on the SEC website. The committee will host three panels to discuss: Private Funds/Markets and Outbound Investments in Countries of Concern; Ensuring Digital Engagement Practices Responsibly Expand Investment Opportunities; and Audit Committee Workload and Transparency. The full...
2023-06-21 6:04 PM EDT
SEC Charges Audit Firm Marcum LLP for Widespread Quality Control Deficiencies
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 21, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged audit firm Marcum LLP with systemic quality control failures and violations of audit standards in connection with audit work for hundreds of special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) clients beginning at the latest in 2020. The SEC’s order also found that Marcum’s deficiencies were not limited to SPAC clients, but they reflected systemic quality control failures throughout the firm....
2023-06-21 11:13 AM EDT
SEC Reopens Comment Period for Position Reporting of Large Security-Based Swap Positions
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 20, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today reopened the comment period for its proposed rule for position reporting of large security-based swap positions that exceed certain thresholds, and the staff of the Commission’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis released a memorandum that provides supplemental data and analysis regarding the proposed reporting thresholds in the equity security-based swap market. The public comment period...
2023-06-20 6:53 PM EDT
SEC Charges Private Equity Fund Adviser for Overcharging Fees and Failing to Disclose Fee Calculation Conflict
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 20, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged New York-based investment adviser Insight Venture Management LLC with charging excess management fees and failing to disclose a conflict of interest to investors relating to its fee calculations. To settle the SEC’s charges, Insight agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty and $864,958 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, which has already been paid back to the impacted funds. According...
2023-06-20 6:46 PM EDT
SEC Charges Stanley Black & Decker and Former Executive for Failures in Executive Perks Disclosure
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 20, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Stanley Black & Decker Inc., a publicly traded tools company, for failing to disclose perquisites it provided to certain executives. In addition, Jeffery D. Ansell, a former Stanley Black & Decker executive, agreed to settle charges that he caused Stanley Black & Decker to violate proxy solicitation and books and records provisions of the federal securities laws....
2023-06-20 4:31 PM EDT
SEC Secures Emergency Relief to Protect Binance.US Customers' Assets
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 17, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today secured emergency relief in which the all the defendants in its litigation against Binance Holdings Limited, BAM Management US Holdings Inc., BAM Trading Services Inc., and Changpeng Zhao agreed to repatriate to the United States assets held for the benefit of customers of the Binance.US crypto trading platform. The order from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia also...
2023-06-17 12:18 PM EDT