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‘Enforcement 40’ for 2020
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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedInSEC Settles Multi-Tiered Insider Trading Case Against Convicted Fraudster, His Friend and Tippee, and a Former IIIumina Accountant
On April 11, 2023, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Donald G. Blakstad, a self-employed individual from San Diego. On November 21, 2022, the Court entered final judgments against Robert J. Maron, a personal friend of Blakstad, and Martha Patricia Bustos, a former accountant […]
SEC Charges Investment Adviser Betterment for Misstatements Concerning Tax Loss Harvesting Service
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged investment advisory firm Betterment LLC for material misstatements and omissions related to its automated tax loss harvesting service (TLH), failing to provide clients with notice of changes to contracts, and failing to maintain certain required books and records. To settle the charges, Betterment agreed to pay a $9 million […]
U.S. Supreme Court to hear dispute over Slack’s direct stock listing | Reuters
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a bid by Slack Technologies Inc, part of Salesforce Inc (CRM.N), to avoid a lawsuit accusing the workplace communication software company of misstatements in its 2019 direct listing – an alternative to an initial public offering. The justices took up San Francisco-based Slack’s appeal of a […]
FTX celebrity promoters say crypto investors cannot sue over accounts | Reuters
The proposed class action in Miami alleges that FTX yield-bearing accounts were unregistered securities that were unlawfully sold in the United States, which required the promoters to disclose the compensation they received. The lawsuit seeks damages from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried alongside several celebrities who promoted FTX including David, the creator of TV shows “Seinfeld” […]
SEC Can’t Get Back Unconstitutional ALJs Case, Petitioner Says
An investment adviser asked the US Supreme Court to take up his case and find that a federal appeals court lacks the authority to remand it to the SEC after vacating the commission’s order as unconstitutional. George Jarkesy Jr. filed the cross-petition for certiorari one month after the Securities and Exchange Commission asked the high […]
SEC Chair Gensler to Defend Climate, Crypto Plans Before GOP-Led Panel – WSJ
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler is set to defend his regulatory agenda Tuesday before a House panel that has grown hostile to his plans under Republican leadership of the committee. “The SEC is the cop on the beat watching out for your constituents,” Mr. Gensler said in prepared remarks for the hearing before […]
The SEC Comes for Bittrex – Bloomberg
Nobody wants to hear it! Ooh, if we enforce traditional securities laws without adapting them to crypto, there will be no crypto trading in the US: fine! The SEC’s majority view is just crystal clear here: Virtually all crypto tokens are securities. Securities cannot legally be traded, in the US, except on a registered securities exchange. […]
SEC Appoints Deborah J. Jeffrey as Inspector General
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the appointment of Deborah J. Jeffrey as Inspector General, effective May 7, 2023. Ms. Jeffrey is currently the Inspector General of AmeriCorps. Source: SEC.gov | SEC Appoints Deborah J. Jeffrey as Inspector General
SEC Lays Its Cards on the Table With Assertion That DeFi Falls Under Securities Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) warning shot last week that decentralized finance (DeFi) could be thrown into its expanding definition of what makes a securities exchange is the latest move to formalize what Chairman Gary Gensler has been saying: Crypto belongs in the securities world and will be regulated that way. The crypto […]
Cybersecurity-Related Securities Suit Allegations Against Okta Dismissed | The D&O Diary
As I noted in my year-end round up of D&O related issues (here), plaintiffs’ lawyers have continued to file securities class action lawsuits following cybersecurity incidents, even though the plaintiffs’ track record in these kinds of lawsuits generally has been poor. Among the cybersecurity-related securities lawsuits filed last year was the suit against cloud-based software […]