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‘Enforcement 40’ for 2020
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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedInSEC Charges Three Executives at U.S. Navy Shipbuilder Austal USA with Accounting Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three executives of Mobile, Alabama-based shipbuilder, Austal USA LLC, for orchestrating a fraudulent revenue recognition scheme that allowed its parent company to meet or exceed analyst expectations. The SEC alleges that, from at least January 2013 through July 2016, Austal USA’s former president, Craig D. Perciavalle, its current […]
SEC Awards More Than $12 Million to Two Whistleblowers
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced awards of more than $12 million to two whistleblowers who provided information and assistance in a successful SEC enforcement action. The first whistleblower prompted the opening of the investigation and provided information on violations that would otherwise have been difficult to detect. This whistleblower identified key witnesses, helped […]
Judge axes Biogen class action, rips shareholder lawyers for ‘constant misrepresentation’ | Reuters
But few dismissal decisions, at least in my experience, castigate plaintiffs’ lawyers for trying to do just that – which is why a ruling on Wednesday from U.S. District Judge William Young caught my eye. *** Young concluded that none of the 25 allegedly false statements was actually false and that the complaint failed to […]
SEC Charges Hedge Fund Trader and Broker-Dealer Partner in Multi-Million Dollar SPAC Insider Trading Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed insider trading charges against Sean Wygovsky, a former trader at a Canadian asset management firm, and Christopher Matthaei, a former partner at a U.S. broker-dealer, for using nonpublic information in advance of at least seven merger announcements involving Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) to earn illicit profits of […]
Location Drives Tough Calls on Confessing Corporate Crime to DOJ
Lawyers for corporations thinking about confessing misdeeds in exchange for heightened leniency from prosecutors are weighing where they can get the better deal: Justice Department headquarters or a US attorney’s office. Counsel may have a clearer path to avoiding charges through a process known as declination by walking into the Criminal Division in Washington. DOJ’s […]
Israeli Universities Escape Madoff Trustee’s $50 Million US Suit
Four universities in Israel successfully defeated a New York bankruptcy court lawsuit brought by the trustee for Bernie Madoff’s defunct investment firm but still face claims abroad over their receipt of roughly $50 million in funds derived from Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Judge Cecelia Morris of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New […]
SEC Pursues ‘Dealer’ Definition Expansion, to Industry’s Dismay
The Securities and Exchange Commission is finalizing a rule that, as proposed, would clarify and expand the definition to include some financial firms—such as high-frequency traders—that have traditionally not been considered a dealer. Industry advocates say the agency also is using recent lawsuits against penny-stock flippers to go further than it’s likely to do in […]
SBF Bribery Charge Has Me Shaking My Head – Bloomberg
According to the indictment, the accounts in question were unfrozen in November 2021. As it happens, in September of that year, FTT hit its highest value ever, at $85. As of this writing, the token trades at about $1.35. That means that $40 million in cryptocurrency in the fall of 2021 is worth about $636,000 today. […]
SEC’s Gary Gensler Asks for $2.4 Billion to Fight Crypto ‘Misconduct’ | Observer
The SEC’s proposed 2024 budget would be around a $200 million increase from 2023. The agency is requesting funding for 170 new positions, in addition to funding for staff hired the year prior, testified Gensler. A significant portion of these jobs would entail adding to the SEC’s enforcement and examinations divisions, which account for around […]
U.S. Crypto Crackdown Sure Looks Like an Attempt to Kill a Promising Industry: CoinDesk Editorial
But whether this is a coordinated effort against crypto or not may be irrelevant. Some people are convinced it’s real, and not just my friend Harry. The idea is rampant now: The U.S. has it in for crypto. So some firms are looking at moving overseas, while others are worried they will lose or be […]