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‘Enforcement 40’ for 2020
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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedInSEC Charges Advisory Firm and Part-Owner for Breach of Fiduciary Duty in Connection with Use of Leveraged ETFs
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Fargo, North Dakota-based investment adviser Classic Asset Management LLC (CAM) and indirect part-owner and investment adviser representative Douglas G. Schmitz for breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the use of leveraged exchange traded funds (ETFs) in discretionary client accounts. According to the SEC’s order, […]
SEC Adopts Amendments to Enhance Private Fund Reporting
The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted amendments to Form PF, the confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds. The amendments are designed to enhance the ability of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to assess systemic risk and to bolster the Commission’s oversight of private fund advisers and its investor […]
Stryker discloses new FCPA investigation after two prior enforcement actions | The FCPA Blog
Medical device-make Stryker Corporation — which resolved FCPA cases in 2013 and 2018 — said Tuesday in an SEC filing that it is “currently investigating whether certain business activities in a foreign country violated provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.” Stryker, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, said it has “engaged outside counsel to conduct” the […]
Coinbase Faces Off Against SEC Over Gary Gensler’s Crypto Crackdown – Bloomberg
The materials Coinbase circulated to investors, however, flagged a major risk: The Securities and Exchange Commission could decide that some tokens traded on Coinbase’s platform are securities just like stocks or bonds — bringing all the regulations that come with it. Two years later, that’s what appears to be happening as the SEC moves to […]
Ex-OpenSea manager convicted in NFT insider trading case | Nasdaq
A former product manager at OpenSea, the world’s largest marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), was convicted on Wednesday of fraud and money laundering for using inside knowledge of which assets would be featured on its home page to trade NFTs. Nathaniel Chastain was accused of buying NFTs he had decided to feature on the OpenSea […]
I Owe Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong an Apology
I’m suddenly being reminded, not of Coinbase’s missteps, but of the good times. The boring times. The times when Coinbase did absolutely nothing. The times when, for instance, CEO Brian Armstrong didn’t secretly send my money to an affiliated hedge fund. Or the time he didn’t gamble my funds away on his own exchange, then […]
U.S. SEC Changes Its Mind on Officially Labeling Digital Assets in Hedge Fund Regulation
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took one small step backwards in regulating the crypto sector on Wednesday, when it erased what would have been its first formal definition of “digital asset” from its latest hedge fund rule. While the SEC had initially included the definition in its 2022 proposal to overhaul mandatory disclosures […]
Is ChatGPT Securities Fraud? – Bloomberg
At this point the lawsuits seem a bit far-fetched: “You should have warned us months ago that artificial intelligence would hurt your business” is unfair given how quickly ChatGPT has exploded from nowhere to become a cultural and business phenomenon. But now everyone is on notice! If you are not warning your shareholders now about how […]
Australian ‘finfluencer’ gets 2-1/2 year sentence for market manipulation | Reuters
Australian trader and online personality Gabriel Govinda was sentenced to two and half years imprisonment after he pled guilty to 23 charges of market manipulation, the country’s securities regulator said on Wednesday. Govinda, who goes by the pseudonym ‘Fibonarchery’ on HotCopper, an online stock market chat forum, was also fined A$42,840 “for market manipulation and […]
SEC Signals Enforcement Ramp-Up Coming for Conflicted Brokers
Stockbrokers who don’t act in the best interests of investors should expect securities regulators to start taking a tougher stance, as Wall Street’s top cop signals it’s ready to ramp up enforcement. Regulation Best Interest, or Reg BI, raised the standard for brokers when it took effect several years ago, directing them to act in […]