Median settlement values in SEC cases against companies nearly doubled in FY 2011, and jumped 35% in cases against individuals according to NERA.

via Median SEC Settlement Values Jump in FY 2011 – Compliance Week.

A federal judge said he has the authority to decide whether the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission can compel a brokerage industry protection fund to let thousands of victims of Allen Stanford’s alleged Ponzi scheme file claims for compensation. The SEC’s effort to force the Securities Investor Protection Corp to initiate a claims procedure for Stanford’s victims is subject to judicial review, Judge Robert Wilkins of federal court in Washington, D.C., ruled on Thursday.

via Judge to have say in SIPC’s role in Stanford claims.–Reuters

“You have the SEC begging for more money, a lot more money, and only receiving a little more,” said Bruce Carton, a former attorney with the SEC’s Division of Enforcement who now edits a website called Securities Docket. “This is where they find themselves every year.”

via Broken budget process hurts Wall Street reform–CNN Money.

An independent investigative agency in Washington, DC called the Office of Congressional Ethics has launched an investigation that shows that the issue of insider trading by Congress may not be merely academic.

via With the STOCK Act Imminent, Investigators Probe One Congressman\’s Trades – Compliance Week.

Cuban has been fighting for more than three years against SEC claims that he traded on confidential information when he sold his stake in Mamma.com, a Canadian Internet search company now known as Copernic Inc., just before it announced a private placement of shares. He’s scheduled to be deposed by SEC investigators at 9 a.m. at the agency’s regional office in Fort Worth, Texas, according to a Jan. 13 federal court filing in Dallas.

via Mark Cuban Faces SEC Deposition Today in Insider Trading Probe – Businessweek.

Join a webcast with an experienced panel of anti-corruption compliance practitioners that will cover the key trends shaping anti-corruption enforcement and provide practical views on how companies can update their anti-corruption compliance programs to meet the many challenges facing business today.  In particular, the webcast will

1. summarize global anti-corruption enforcement trends in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and other key countries;
2. recap the latest FCPA trials and their implications;
3. address today’s best practices for establishing and refreshing an effective anti-corruption compliance program; and
4. look at the importance of risk-based third-party due diligence.

The panel’s collective knowledge, gained from advising clients daily on the legal and business challenges posed in this area, will benefit directors, senior executives, in-house counsel, and compliance personnel alike.

Presenters:

• F. Joseph Warin serves as chair of the Litigation Department for Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office and as co-chair of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations group.  A recognized expert in the FCPA and U.K. Bribery Act, Mr. Warin has served or is serving as FCPA compliance monitor (or counsel to the first non-U.S. FCPA compliance monitor) for three companies.
• Benno Schwarz is a member of Gibson Dunn’s White Collar Defense and Investigations and International Corporate Transactions groups.  Based in Gibson Dunn’s Munich office, Mr. Schwarz is an expert in global anti-corruption compliance having conducted corruption-related internal investigations throughout the EU, Russia, and China.
• Michael Diamant is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office and practices in its White Collar Defense and Investigations group.  Mr. Diamant is an expert on the FCPA, the UK Bribery Act, and corporate compliance issues.
• Joseph Spinelli is a Managing Director in Navigant’s Global Investigations and Compliance segment and is a leading authority on white-collar crime matters with more than 30 years of forensic investigations experience, including as a special agent in the FBI and a principle in a Big Four accounting firm.

To attend this free webcast scheduled for Wednesday, February 29, at 12 pm Eastern, please sign up below.

Diamond Foods, Inc. today announced that the Audit Committee of its Board of Directors has substantially completed its investigation of the Company’s accounting for certain crop payments to walnut growers. The Audit Committee has concluded that the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal years 2010 and 2011 will need to be restated…. The Audit Committee has concluded that a “continuity” payment made to growers in August 2010 of approximately $20 million and a “momentum” payment made to growers in September 2011 of approximately $60 million were not accounted for in the correct periods, and the Audit Committee identified material weaknesses in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

The Board of Directors is taking a number of corrective actions including the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Effective immediately, the Board has appointed Director Rick Wolford to serve as Acting President and Chief Executive Officer and Michael Murphy, of Alix Partners, LLP, to serve as Acting Chief Financial Officer. The Company is commencing searches for permanent replacements for the CEO and CFO positions….

via Diamond Foods Press Release

A recent study shows that compliance officers are stressed out these days. Unfortunately, this stress level is about to go even higher for compliance officers at investment firms if the SEC follows through on a recent decision that such compliance officers may themselves be sued as “supervisors.”

via Stressed-Out Compliance Officers May Soon Feel Even More Heat From SEC – Compliance Week.

As the STOCK Act, a bill to stop insider trading by members of Congress, heads to the House of Representatives after passing a Senate vote, the House Democratic leader has become a specific target of the legislation. There are jobs bills and a payroll tax extension mired in Washington gridlock, but the STOCK Act is sailing through Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, with a House vote expected Thursday.

via STOCK Act heads for House vote – CBS News.

I also question whether these “experts” are right in their expectation that there would be far more trials.  I am not so sure that many corporate executives want public airings of the factual details of the company’s wrongdoing.  ”Experts” predicted that the enactment of the Sentencing Guidelines would overwhelm the federal courts with trials since many more criminal defendants would exercise their right to trial because of the perceived (and actual) harshness and rigidity of the Guidelines upon a conviction.  That simply has not happened….

via Will the SEC’s Requiring Settling Parties to Admit Wrongdoing Increase the Number of Trials?.– White Collar Crime Prof Blog