SEC Charges Virginia Engineer with Orchestrating $30 Million Offering Fraud
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 25, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Babu Ramaraj, a resident of Aldie, Virginia, with defrauding more than 70 investors of approximately $31 million through his company, DAB Inspection and Consulting Services LLC. The SEC’s complaint alleges that, from February 2019 through May 2024, Ramaraj solicited and lured his victims with the promise of 40-60 percent annual investment returns. According to the complaint, Ramaraj...
2024-07-25 2:02 PM EDT
Keith E. Cassidy Named Interim Acting Director of the Division of Examinations
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 22, 2024) - In response to a previously announced medical issue, the Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Richard Best, the Director of the Division of Examinations, will take leave from the agency to focus on his health. Keith E. Cassidy, the Division’s Deputy Director, will serve as its interim Acting Director. “I wish Rich well as he takes time to focus on his health,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “I thank Keith for stepping in...
2024-07-22 2:13 PM EDT
SEC Launches Interagency Securities Council to Coordinate Enforcement Efforts Across Federal, State, and Local Agencies
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 19, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement this month launched the Interagency Securities Council (ISC), which invites federal, state, and local regulatory and law enforcement professionals to meet quarterly to discuss the latest in scams, trends, frauds, and mitigation strategies. The ISC’s objective is to strengthen the cohesion between federal, state, and local agencies, enhance opportunities to collaborate on cases...
2024-07-19 1:15 PM EDT
SEC Awards More Than $37 Million to a Whistleblower
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of more than $37 million to a whistleblower who provided information not previously known to the SEC and which significantly contributed to a successful enforcement action. The whistleblower also met with Enforcement staff and identified potential witnesses and documents, which conserved staff time and resources. “Today’s award illustrates the importance of the SEC’s...
2024-07-17 2:08 PM EDT
SEC Small Business Advisory Committee to Explore Recent Changes to U.S. Small Business Administration's Small Business Investment Company Program
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee today released the agenda for its meeting on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, which will include an exploration of recent changes to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program. Members of the public can watch the live meeting via webcast on www.sec.gov. The Committee, which provides advice and...
2024-07-12 10:06 AM EDT
SEC Updates Website to Improve Compliance, Functionality, and User Experience
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 2, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced enhancements to its website to improve compliance with federal statutes and standards as well as the site’s functionality. The updates will improve the website’s user experience for market participants and the public. “I’m pleased that these updates will improve our website’s compliance with federal standards,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “These changes will benefit investors, issuers,...
2024-07-02 11:58 AM EDT
SEC Charges Silvergate Capital, Former CEO for Misleading Investors about Compliance Program
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 1, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Silvergate Capital Corporation, its former CEO Alan Lane, and former Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Kathleen Fraher with misleading investors about the strength of the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance program and the monitoring of crypto customers, including FTX, by Silvergate’s wholly owned subsidiary, Silvergate Bank. The SEC also charged Silvergate and its former...
2024-07-01 4:45 PM EDT
SEC Adopts Tailored Registration Form for Offerings of Registered Index-Linked and Registered Market-Value Adjustment Annuities
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 1, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted tailored disclosure requirements and offering processes for offerings of registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) and registered market value adjustment annuities (registered MVA annuities, and collectively with RILAs, non-variable annuities). The final rule will require issuers of non-variable annuities to register offerings on Form N-4, the form currently used to register offerings of...
2024-07-01 4:41 PM EDT
SEC, MSRB, FINRA to Hold Hybrid Compliance Outreach Program
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 1, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced the opening of registration for both in-person and virtual attendance of their Compliance Outreach Program for municipal market professionals. The event is open to the public and will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20, and Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at the Byron Rogers Federal Building in...
2024-07-01 4:39 PM EDT
SEC Charges Consensys Software for Unregistered Offers and Sales of Securities through its MetaMask Staking Service
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 28, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Consensys Software Inc. with engaging in the unregistered offer and sale of securities through a service it calls MetaMask Staking and with operating as an unregistered broker through MetaMask Staking and another service it calls MetaMask Swaps. According to the SEC’s complaint, since at least January 2023, Consensys has offered and sold tens of thousands of unregistered securities on...
2024-06-28 2:25 PM EDT
SEC Office of the Investor Advocate Delivers Report to Congress on Objectives for Fiscal Year 2025
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 27, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate today delivered its Report to Congress on the Office’s objectives for fiscal year 2025. As detailed in the Report, the Investor Advocate’s priorities for fiscal year 2025 include: Assisting investors victimized by fraud and monitoring the measurable surge in investment fraud schemes; Enhancing Ombuds services to resolve questions, complaints, and concerns about the SEC...
2024-06-27 11:32 AM EDT
SEC Charges Meta Materials and Former CEOs with Market Manipulation, Fraud and Other Violations
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 25, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against Meta Materials Inc. and its former CEOs, John Brda and George Palikaras. The company has agreed to settle the SEC’s charges in an administrative proceeding, while the SEC’s litigation against Brda and Palikaras will proceed in federal district court. The SEC’s complaint against Brda and Palikaras alleges that, as a result of a concerted market manipulation scheme, Meta...
2024-06-25 9:20 AM EDT
SEC Updates List of Firms Using Inaccurate Information to Solicit Investors
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 24, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it updated its list of unregistered entities that use misleading information to solicit primarily non-U.S. investors, adding 24 soliciting entities, six impersonators of genuine firms, and four bogus regulators. The SEC’s list of soliciting entities that have been the subject of investor complaints, known as the Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities (PAUSE) list, enables...
2024-06-24 3:10 PM EDT
SEC Charges R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. with Cybersecurity-Related Controls Violations
Washington D.C., June 18, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD), a global provider of business communication and marketing services, agreed to pay over $2.1 million to settle disclosure and internal control failure charges relating to cybersecurity incidents and alerts in late 2021. “The Commission instituted this enforcement action because RRD’s controls for elevating cybersecurity incidents to its management and protecting...
2024-06-18 4:54 PM EDT
SEC's New Public Service Campaign Emphasizes Investor Protection
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 17, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) today unveiled its new public service campaign, which highlights investor protection and encourages investors to explore the free tools and resources on Investor.gov. The campaign, “Is This Right?” takes a multi-generational knowledge-sharing approach to educating investors. It features two TV spots and resources pages in both English and Spanish...
2024-06-17 11:49 AM EDT
Terraform and Kwon to Pay $4.5 Billion Following Fraud Verdict
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 13, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Terraform Labs PTE, Ltd. and Do Kwon agreed to pay more than $4.5 billion following a unanimous jury verdict holding them liable for orchestrating a years-long fraud involving crypto asset securities that led to massive investor losses when the scheme unraveled. A nine-day jury trial in April exposed the extent of the defendants’ lies to victims about the false use of the Terraform...
2024-06-13 6:10 PM EDT
SEC Charges JAG Capital Advisors and its Founder Joshua Goltry with Defrauding Investors
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 12, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Joshua Goltry and his investment management firm, JAG Capital Advisors LLC (JAG Advisors), in connection with a three-year scheme to defraud investors of at least $3 million. According to the SEC’s complaint, from 2020 to 2023, Goltry, the founder and Chief Investment Officer of a purported equity fund called JAG Cap, LLC, and JAG Advisors, the purported equity fund’s investment manager,...
2024-06-12 5:19 PM EDT
SEC Appoints Erica Y. Williams to a Second Term as PCAOB Chairperson
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 11, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the appointment of Erica Y. Williams to a second term as Chairperson of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) beginning on Oct. 25, 2024, and running through Oct. 24, 2029. “I thank Erica for her leadership and am pleased that she will continue to serve as Chairperson of the PCAOB,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “I also thank the PCAOB staff and the Board for their...
2024-06-11 2:28 PM EDT
SEC Charges Founder of AI Hiring Startup Joonko with Fraud
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 11, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Ilit Raz, CEO and founder of the now-shuttered artificial intelligence recruitment startup Joonko, with defrauding investors of at least $21 million by making false and misleading statements about the quantity and quality of Joonko’s customers, the number of candidates on its platform, and the company’s revenue. According to the SEC’s complaint, Joonko claimed to use artificial...
2024-06-11 11:58 AM EDT
SEC Charges Three New Yorkers for Raising More Than $184 Million Through Pre-IPO Fraud Schemes
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 7, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three individuals with fraud for selling unregistered membership interests in LLCs that purported to invest in shares of pre-IPO companies, first on behalf of StraightPath Venture Partners LLC, the subject of the Commission’s emergency action in May 2022, and, later, on behalf of Legend Venture Partners LLC, the subject of the Commission’s emergency action in June 2023. Both StraightPath...
2024-06-07 12:41 PM EDT