‘Enforcement 40’ for 2020
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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedInThe SEC’s Continued Focus on Cybersecurity Enforcement | Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
On June 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a $490,000 settlement with the real estate services provider First American Financial Corporation (First American) for violations of disclosure controls and procedures related to cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Notably, the SEC’s case against First American did not specifically focus on a cyberattack or allege an underlying securities […]
SEC Charges Issuer With Cybersecurity Disclosure Controls Failures
According to the SEC’s order, on the morning of May 24, 2019, a cybersecurity journalist notified First American of a vulnerability with its application for sharing document images that exposed over 800 million images dating back to 2003, including images containing sensitive personal data such as social security numbers and financial information. In response, according […]
SEC Charges Under Armour Inc. With Disclosure Failures
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged sports apparel manufacturer Under Armour Inc. with misleading investors as to the bases of its revenue growth and failing to disclose known uncertainties concerning its future revenue prospects. Under Armour has agreed to pay $9 million to settle the action. Source: SEC.gov | SEC Charges Under Armour Inc. With […]
The Cybersecurity 202: Companies are doing a terrible job of reporting cybersecurity risks to investors, a new study says – The Washington Post
Many publicly traded companies are leaving investors in the dark on important cybersecurity risks, a new report suggests. That includes vulnerabilities like the ones that allowed Russian hackers to exploit SolarWinds and other firms to infiltrate nine federal agencies and at least 100 companies. The study’s authors found that many publicly traded companies fail to provide […]
SEC Charges Robinhood Financial With Misleading Customers About Revenue Sources and Failing to Satisfy Duty of Best Execution
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Robinhood Financial LLC for repeated misstatements that failed to disclose the firm’s receipt of payments from trading firms for routing customer orders to them, and with failing to satisfy its duty to seek the best reasonably available terms to execute customer orders. Robinhood agreed to pay $65 million […]
SEC Charges Sequential Brands Group Inc. with Deceiving Investors by Failing to Timely Impair Goodwill
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Sequential failed to properly assess its goodwill for potential impairment after several months of declining stock prices followed by a precipitous drop in early November 2016. According to the complaint, in December 2016, shortly after Sequential passed its annual goodwill testing, the company conducted internal calculations showing that, in light […]
General Electric Agrees to Pay $200 Million Penalty for Disclosure Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that General Electric Co. (GE) has agreed to pay a $200 million penalty to settle charges for disclosure failures in its power and insurance businesses. In 2017 and 2018, GE’s stock price fell almost 75% as challenges in its power and insurance businesses were disclosed to the public. […]
COVID-19: Mitigating Enforcement and Litigation Disclosure Risks for Public Companies | Bass Berry & Sims | Securities Law Exchange
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a disclosure nightmare for public companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recognized this challenge and, to its credit, has provided relief to public companies by, among other things, extending the deadline for companies to file certain disclosure reports. Nonetheless, companies are faced with the challenge of crafting disclosures […]
SEC Charges Sapphire Glass Manufacturer and Former CEO With Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a New Hampshire-based company and its former CEO with misleading investors about the company’s ability to supply “sapphire glass” for Apple’s iPhones. The company, GT Advanced Technologies Inc., also is found to have misclassified more than $300 million in debt to Apple that resulted from its repeated failures […]
Trump push for fewer company profit reports tempered by SEC | Bloomberg News
“I don’t think quarterly reporting is going to change for our top names anytime soon,” Clayton said Thursday at an event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. “It was good of the president to raise it,” he said, adding that it could make sense to ease the requirements for smaller companies. via Trump […]