SEC Charges Hex Founder Richard Heart with Misappropriating Millions of Dollars of Investor Funds from Unregistered Crypto Asset Securities Offerings that Raised more than $1 Billion
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Richard Heart (aka Richard Schueler) and three unincorporated entities that he controls, Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX, with conducting unregistered offerings of crypto asset securities that raised more than $1 billion in crypto assets from investors. The SEC also charged Heart and PulseChain with fraud for misappropriating at least $12 million of offering proceeds to purchase luxury goods...
2023-07-31 11:35 AM EDT
SEC Charges Florida Resident with Operating $35 Million Ponzi Scheme that Targeted Church Members
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 27, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Brent Seaman of Naples, Florida, and various entities he managed for fraudulently raising approximately $35 million from at least 60 investors through an unregistered securities offering. Many of these investors were elderly, retired, and connected to a Naples church where Seaman was an active member. The SEC’s complaint alleges that, from approximately June 2019 until September 2022,...
2023-07-27 1:04 PM EDT
SEC Proposes New Requirements to Address Risks to Investors From Conflicts of Interest Associated With the Use of Predictive Data Analytics by Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed new rules that would require broker-dealers and investment advisers (collectively, “firms”) to take certain steps to address conflicts of interest associated with their use of predictive data analytics and similar technologies to interact with investors to prevent firms from placing their interests ahead of investors’ interests. “We live in an historic, transformational age with regard...
2023-07-26 12:39 PM EDT
SEC Adopts Rules on Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy, Governance, and Incident Disclosure by Public Companies
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted rules requiring registrants to disclose material cybersecurity incidents they experience and to disclose on an annual basis material information regarding their cybersecurity risk management, strategy, and governance. The Commission also adopted rules requiring foreign private issuers to make comparable disclosures. “Whether a company loses a factory in a fire — or millions of files in a...
2023-07-26 11:48 AM EDT
SEC Charges Investor Joseph C. Lewis and Associates with Insider Trading
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 26, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged investor Joseph C. Lewis for illegally tipping material nonpublic information to his then-girlfriend, Carolyn W. Carter, as well as his two private pilots, Patrick J. O’Connor and Bryan L. Waugh, so that each would use this information to execute trades. The SEC also charged Carter, O’Connor, and Waugh with using that information to trade and reap combined profits of more than $545,000....
2023-07-26 9:39 AM EDT
SEC Names Natasha Vij Greiner and Keith E. Cassidy Interim Acting Co-Directors of the Division of Examinations
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 25, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Natasha Vij Greiner and Keith E. Cassidy have been named interim Acting Co-Directors of the Division of Examinations, effective immediately, while Division Director Richard Best is on extended medical leave from the agency. “My thoughts are with Rich as he’s away from the agency on medical leave,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “I thank Natasha and Keith for stepping in on an interim...
2023-07-25 11:16 AM EDT
SEC, NASAA, and Wisconsin DFI to host Investor Roundtable in Madison, Wisconsin on July 25
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 21, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it will join the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) for a Joint Public Roundtable at the DFI headquarters on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at 10 a.m. CT. The afternoon session of the roundtable will be webcast on the SEC website. The event will consist of the following key sessions: An Investor Roundtable...
2023-07-21 11:14 AM EDT
SEC Charges Digital World SPAC for Material Misrepresentations to Investors
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 20, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled fraud charges against Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), for making material misrepresentations in forms filed with the SEC as part of DWAC’s initial public offering and proposed merger with Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG). The Commission finds that DWAC misled investors and the SEC by failing to disclose that...
2023-07-20 4:59 PM EDT
SEC Charges Twice-Convicted Fraudster Eliyahu Weinstein and Five Others with $38 Million Ponzi-Like Scheme to Defraud Investors
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 19, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged six individuals with a multi-million dollar Ponzi-like fraud scheme orchestrated by criminal recidivist Eliyahu Weinstein of Lakewood, New Jersey. Along with Weinstein, the SEC charged Aryeh L. Bromberg, Joel L. Wittels, Richard M. Curry, Christopher J. Anderson, and Alaa Mohamed Hattab for their roles in the fraudulent scheme, which involved raising investments to fund purported deals to...
2023-07-19 3:09 PM EDT
SEC Charges Celsius Network Limited and Founder Alex Mashinsky with Fraud and Unregistered Offer and Sale of Securities
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Celsius Network Limited (Celsius) and its founder and former CEO, Alex Mashinsky, for violating registration and anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws, including by failing to register the offers and sales of Celsius’s crypto lending product, the Earn Interest Program; making false and misleading statements to investors of the Earn Interest Program and Celsius’s own crypto...
2023-07-13 11:42 AM EDT
SEC Charges RSE Markets Inc. for Operating an Unregistered Securities Exchange
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against RSE Markets Inc. for operating as an unregistered exchange by maintaining and providing a marketplace and facilities that brought together purchasers and sellers of securities, specifically equity interests in “collectible assets” such as valuable cars and watches. The SEC’s order finds that, between July 1, 2018, and November 20, 2021, RSE operated the Rally...
2023-07-12 3:07 PM EDT
SEC Awards Whistleblower More Than $9 Million
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of more than $9 million to a whistleblower whose significant and detailed information and assistance led to a successful SEC enforcement action. After repeatedly internally reporting the concerns, the whistleblower alerted SEC’s Enforcement Division to the conduct, prompting the opening of the investigation. In addition, the whistleblower provided substantial and ongoing...
2023-07-12 2:23 PM EDT
SEC Proposes Rule Amendments to the Broker-Dealer Customer Protection Rule
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed amendments to Rule 15c3-3 (the Customer Protection Rule) to require certain broker-dealers to increase the frequency with which they perform computations of the net cash they owe to customers and other broker-dealers (known as PAB account holders) from weekly to daily. Net cash owed to customers and PAB account holders must be held in a special reserve bank account. “I am pleased to...
2023-07-12 12:34 PM EDT
SEC Adopts Money Market Fund Reforms and Amendments to Form PF Reporting Requirements for Large Liquidity Fund Advisers
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted amendments to certain rules that govern money market funds under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The amendments will increase minimum liquidity requirements for money market funds to provide a more substantial liquidity buffer in the event of rapid redemptions. The amendments will also remove provisions in the current rule that permit a money market fund to suspend redemptions...
2023-07-12 12:04 PM EDT
SEC Charges Merrill Lynch and Parent Company for Failing to File Suspicious Activity Reports
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 11, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and its parent company BAC North America Holding Co. (BACNAH) for failing to file hundreds of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from 2009 to late 2019. Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a $6 million penalty to settle the SEC charges and, in a parallel action, Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a separate $6 million fine to settle...
2023-07-11 12:30 PM EDT
SEC Charges Former Army Financial Counselor Who Defrauded Gold Star Family Members
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 7, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged former U.S. Army financial counselor Caz L. Craffy for defrauding Gold Star family members and others by engaging in unauthorized trading—including of life insurance and family survivor benefits they received following the death of an active duty service member—and for recommending excessive trades and higher risk strategies that did not match customers’ investment profiles. According to...
2023-07-07 11:13 AM EDT
SEC Charges "Smart" Window Manufacturer, View Inc., with Failing to Disclose $28 Million Liability
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 3, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against a California-based manufacturer of “smart” windows, View Inc., for failing to disclose $28 million in projected warranty-related liabilities to address a particular defect in its windows. The SEC decided not to impose civil penalties against View because the company self-reported the misconduct to the SEC, promptly undertook remedial measures, and cooperated with...
2023-07-03 9:10 AM EDT
SEC Charges Two Oregon Residents and Their Related Entities with $10 Million Ponzi-Like Scheme
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Oregon residents Robert D. Christensen and Anthony M. Matic, as well as several companies they controlled, with conducting a multi-year Ponzi-like scheme and misleading investors who purchased more than $10 million in promissory notes. According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least January 2018 through September 2022, Christensen and Matic used four entities that they founded – Foresee...
2023-06-30 1:33 PM EDT
SEC Charges Stockbroker and Friend with Insider Trading
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against Jordan Meadow, a registered representative for a New York-based broker-dealer, and Steven Teixeira, the Chief Compliance Officer of an international payment processing company, in connection with their trading based on material nonpublic information that Teixeira obtained from his girlfriend’s laptop while she was working at home during the COVID-19...
2023-06-29 1:25 PM EDT
SEC Charges Police Chief, Four Others in Connection with Insider Trading Before Pharmaceutical Merger
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed insider trading charges against five individuals, including a police chief in Dighton, Massachusetts, arising from trading before the announcement of a tender offer by Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. to acquire Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. in May 2020. Four of the defendants traded on nonpublic information obtained, directly or indirectly, from the fifth defendant, and realized more than $2.3...
2023-06-29 11:34 AM EDT