Small Business Advisory Committee June Meeting to Focus on Capital Raising and Reducing Funding Gaps for Underrepresented Founders
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 2, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee today released the agenda for its meeting on Wednesday, June 14. The Committee will start the morning session by hearing from its members about marketplace trends in small business capital raising. In the afternoon session, the Committee will discuss ways to remedy the funding gaps for underrepresented founders and startups. Drawing from their...
2023-06-02 4:36 PM EDT
Former Wells Fargo Senior Executive Carrie Tolstedt Agrees to Settle SEC Fraud Charges for Misleading Investors About Abusive Sales Practices to Inflate a Key Performance Metric
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 30, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced its settlement with the former head of Wells Fargo & Co.’s Community Bank, Carrie L. Tolstedt, in which she has agreed to pay a $3 million penalty stemming from charges brought in 2020 for her role in allegedly misleading investors about the success of the Community Bank, Wells Fargo’s core business. The SEC previously settled related charges against Wells Fargo and its former CEO and...
2023-05-30 5:16 PM EDT
Former Coinbase Manager and His Brother Agree to Settle Insider Trading Charges Relating to Crypto Asset Securities
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 30, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, agreed to settle charges that they engaged in insider trading through a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding at least nine crypto asset securities that would be made available for trading on the Coinbase platform. Ishan and Nikhil Wahi each agreed to be permanently enjoined from violating...
2023-05-30 2:17 PM EDT
SEC Shuts Down WeedGenics $60 Million Cannabis Offering Fraud
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained an emergency order to halt an alleged ongoing offering fraud and Ponzi-like scheme by Integrated National Resources Inc. (INR), which does business as WeedGenics, and its owners, Rolf Max Hirschmann and Patrick Earl Williams, who have raised more than $60 million from investors to expand their cannabis operations, but have instead used the majority of funds to make $16.2 million in Ponzi-like...
2023-05-23 2:40 PM EDT
Mellissa Campbell Duru Named Division of Corporation Finance's Deputy Director for Legal and Regulatory Policy
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Mellissa Campbell Duru has been named Deputy Director for Legal and Regulatory Policy in the Division of Corporation Finance. Ms. Duru most recently was a Special Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP and previously spent more than 15 years in various SEC roles. "I’m pleased to welcome Mellissa back to the SEC in this important new role," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "Mellissa's...
2023-05-19 11:51 AM EDT
SEC Proposes Rule Amendments and New Rule to Improve Risk Management and Resilience of Covered Clearing Agencies
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 17, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed rule changes that would improve the resilience and recovery and wind-down planning of covered clearing agencies. The proposal would amend the existing rules regarding intraday margin and the use of substantive inputs to a covered clearing agency’s risk-based margin system and add a new rule to establish requirements for the contents of a covered clearing agency’s recovery and wind-down...
2023-05-17 12:06 PM EDT
SEC Charges 10 Microcap Companies with Securities Offering Registration Violations
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 16, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against 10 microcap companies for offering and selling securities in unregistered offerings that failed to comply with Regulation A, which provides a limited exemption from registration under the Securities Act to allow companies to raise money from the public as long as they meet specific requirements. According to the SEC’s orders, between December 2019 and May 2022, each of...
2023-05-16 9:31 AM EDT
SEC Charges Red Rock Secured, Three Executives in Fraud Scheme Targeting Retirement Accounts
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against El Segundo, California-based Red Rock Secured LLC, its CEO, Sean Kelly, and two of its former Senior Account Executives, Anthony Spencer and Jeffrey Ward, in connection with a fraudulent scheme that involved convincing hundreds of investors to sell securities in their retirement accounts to buy gold and silver coins at prices that included markups far greater than the...
2023-05-15 12:08 PM EDT
Dutch Medical Supplier Philips to Pay More Than $62 Million to Settle FCPA Charges
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 11, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Amsterdam-based Koninklijke Philips N.V. will pay more than $62 million to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) with respect to conduct related to its sales of medical diagnostic equipment in China. According to the SEC’s order, Philips’ subsidiaries in China, cumulatively referred to in the order as Philips China, used special price discounts...
2023-05-11 4:39 PM EDT
SEC Charges HSBC and Scotia Capital with Widespread Recordkeeping Failures
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 11, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. for widespread and longstanding failures by both firms and their employees to maintain and preserve electronic communications. To settle the charges, HSBC and Scotia acknowledged that their conduct violated recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws and agreed to pay penalties of $15 million and $7.5 million,...
2023-05-11 9:24 AM EDT
SEC Charges Investment Adviser and Fund Trustees with Liquidity Rule Violations
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 5, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against investment adviser Pinnacle Advisors LLC for aiding and abetting Liquidity Rule violations by a mutual fund it advised and whose Liquidity Risk Management Program it administered. The SEC also charged the fund’s two independent trustees, Mark Wadach and Lawton “Charlie” Williamson, and two officers of both Pinnacle Advisors and of the fund it advised, Robert Cuculich and...
2023-05-05 2:09 PM EDT
SEC Issues Largest-Ever Whistleblower Award
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 5, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the largest-ever award, nearly $279 million, to a whistleblower whose information and assistance led to the successful enforcement of SEC and related actions. This is the highest award in the SEC’s whistleblower program’s history, more than doubling the $114 million whistleblower award the SEC issued in October 2020. "The size of today’s award – the highest in our program’s history – not...
2023-05-05 10:23 AM EDT
SEC Charges Advisory Firm and Part-Owner for Breach of Fiduciary Duty in Connection with Use of Leveraged ETFs
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 4, 2023) - 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, from at least 2017 through December 2020,...
2023-05-04 12:38 PM EDT
SEC Announces New Members of Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 4, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced 14 new members of the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee. The new members were appointed to four-year terms to fill vacancies arising primarily from the expiration of prior members’ terms. “I thank the new members for agreeing to serve on the Advisory Committee, which plays an important role in our work to facilitate capital formation for companies of every size,” said...
2023-05-04 11:16 AM EDT
SEC Adopts Amendments to Modernize Share Repurchase Disclosure
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 3, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted amendments to modernize the disclosure requirements relating to repurchases of an issuer’s equity securities, including requiring issuers to provide daily repurchase activity on a quarterly or semi-annual basis, depending on the type of issuer. The amendments will improve disclosure and provide investors with enhanced information to assess the purposes and effects of share repurchases. “In...
2023-05-03 11:28 AM EDT
SEC Alleges Son and Father-in-Law Touted Faith to Target Church Members in $20 Million Offering Fraud
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 2, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Brett M. Bartlett, his father-in-law Scott A. Miller, and their companies for fraudulent securities offerings that raised at least $20.5 million, some of which Bartlett and Miller misused for personal expenses. According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least June 2018 to May 2020, Bartlett and Miller raised funds from more than 1,000 investors nationwide by selling promissory notes, stock,...
2023-05-02 5:59 PM EDT
SEC's Division of Investment Management to Host Inaugural Conference on Emerging Trends in Asset Management
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management today announced it will host virtually an inaugural Conference on Emerging Trends in Asset Management on Friday, May 19, 2023. The conference will bring together a variety of asset management industry participants and academics to discuss emerging trends in asset management. The full agenda with a list of speakers is available here. Conference topics will include:...
2023-04-26 3:03 PM EDT
SEC Appoints Deborah J. Jeffrey as Inspector General
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - April 17, 2023) - 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. “Deb will bring incredible experience in public service and oversight to the SEC,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “The Inspector General’s office plays a critical role as an independent reviewer to promote the integrity, efficiency, and...
2023-04-17 11:42 AM EDT
SEC Charges Crypto Asset Trading Platform Bittrex and its Former CEO for Operating an Unregistered Exchange, Broker, and Clearing Agency
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - April 17, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged crypto asset trading platform Bittrex, Inc. and its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara for operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The SEC also charged Bittrex, Inc.’s foreign affiliate, Bittrex Global GmbH, for failing to register as a national securities exchange in connection with its operation of a single shared order book along...
2023-04-17 10:52 AM EDT
SEC Reopens Comment Period for Proposed Amendments to Exchange Act Rule 3b-16 and Provides Supplemental Information
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - April 14, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today reopened the comment period and provided supplemental information on proposed amendments to the definition of “exchange” under Exchange Act Rule 3b-16. The Commission initially proposed the amendments in January 2022 and reopened the comment period in May 2022. The reopened comment period closed on June 13, 2022. The reopening release reiterated the applicability of existing rules to platforms...
2023-04-14 11:59 AM EDT