SEC Announces Departure of Chief of Staff Amanda Fischer
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the departure of Amanda Fischer, who has served as Chief of Staff since Jan. 1, 2023. She joined the agency as a Senior Counselor to Chair Gary Gensler in June 2021. “I want to thank Amanda for serving as SEC Chief of Staff, and before that, as Senior Counselor to the Chair,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “Amanda is a remarkably talented leader, both as a manager and as a strategist....
2025-01-17 1:07 PM EST
Vanguard to Pay More Than $100 Million to Resolve Violations Related to Target Date Retirement Funds
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that The Vanguard Group, Inc. will pay $106.41 million to settle charges for misleading statements related to capital gains distributions and tax consequences for retail investors who held Vanguard Investor Target Retirement Funds (Investor TRFs) in taxable accounts. The settlement amount will be distributed to harmed investors. The SEC’s order finds that, on December 11, 2020,...
2025-01-17 12:12 PM EST
SEC Charges Pennsylvania Investment Adviser Scott Mason With Misappropriating More Than $20 Million from Advisory Clients
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged former Pennsylvania-based investment adviser Scott J. Mason, and his companies Rubicon Wealth Management LLC and Orchard Park Real Estate Holdings LLC, with misappropriating more than $20 million from at least 13 Rubicon advisory clients. According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least 2014 to 2024, Mason made unauthorized transfers of money from Rubicon clients’ accounts to his own...
2025-01-17 12:10 PM EST
SEC Charges Paul McCabe and PMAC Consulting with Acting as Unregistered Brokers for Pre-IPO Stocks
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Paul John McCabe Jr. and his unregistered firm PMAC Consulting LLC have agreed to pay $3 million to resolve SEC charges for illegally brokering transactions involving the stock of private companies that were expected to undertake an initial public offering (IPO). According to the SEC’s order, McCabe consented to a permanent bar from broker activity by the Financial Industry...
2025-01-17 11:14 AM EST
SEC Charges GrubMarket with Overstating Revenue to Investors by More Than $500 Million
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against GrubMarket Inc., a private, California-based e-commerce food distributor, for providing investors with financial information that the company should have known was unreliable and that overstated its historical revenues by approximately $550 million. According to the SEC’s Order, between November 2019 and February 2021, GrubMarket raised approximately $80...
2025-01-17 10:15 AM EST
SEC Charges LPL Financial with Anti-Money Laundering Violations
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against broker-dealer and investment adviser LPL Financial LLC for multiple failures related to its anti-money laundering (AML) program. To resolve the SEC’s charges, LPL agreed to pay a civil penalty of $18 million and to implement improvements to its AML policies and procedures. According to the SEC order, from at least May 2019 through December 2023, LPL experienced...
2025-01-17 9:28 AM EST
SEC Charges Pair of Wells Fargo Advisory Firms and Merrill Lynch with Compliance Failures Relating to Cash Sweep Programs
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against registered investment advisers Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network LLC (collectively Wells Fargo Advisors) and against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (Merrill Lynch) for failing to adopt and implement written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Advisers Act and...
2025-01-17 9:26 AM EST
SEC Charges Two Sigma for Failing to Address Known Vulnerabilities in its Investment Models
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against New York-based investment advisers Two Sigma Investments LP and Two Sigma Advisers LP (collectively, Two Sigma) for breaching their fiduciary duties by failing to reasonably address known vulnerabilities in their investment models and for related compliance and supervisory failures, as well as for separately violating the Commission’s whistleblower protection...
2025-01-16 4:59 PM EST
SEC Announces Departure of Director of International Affairs YJ Fischer
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that YJ Fischer, the Director of the Office of International Affairs (OIA) since August 2021, will leave her role on Jan. 20, 2025. “I want to thank YJ for her leadership of the Office of International Affairs,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “She has been a trusted advisor to and diplomat for this Commission in our relationships with regulators around the globe. I wish her very well...
2025-01-16 3:39 PM EST
SEC Announces Departure of General Counsel Megan Barbero
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Megan Barbero, who has served as General Counsel since February 2023, will leave the agency on Jan. 20, 2025. Ms. Barbero joined the SEC in July 2021 as Principal Deputy General Counsel. “I thank Megan for her many years of public service, most recently as the SEC’s General Counsel,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “Her measured advice and judgment have been critical to the...
2025-01-16 3:22 PM EST
SEC Charges Four Individuals for Long-Running Scheme to Unlawfully Trade in Advance of Numerous Follow-On Offerings
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed fraud charges against John Lowe, Randy Grewal, Richard Ringel, and David Cooper arising from their longstanding fraudulent scheme to trade in advance of the public announcement of the timing or price, or both, of numerous follow-on offerings of NASDAQ-listed issuers. According to the SEC’s complaint, the defendants engaged in the following arrangement: Cooper, a registered representative...
2025-01-15 5:08 PM EST
SEC Announces Departure of Chief Economist Jessica Wachter
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Jessica A. Wachter, the Chief Economist and Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA), will depart the agency on January 17. “I thank Jessica for her leadership of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, her judgement, and her thoughtful economic analysis,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “As Chief Economist, she ably led a division that has a seat at the...
2025-01-15 10:46 AM EST
SEC Monitoring Impact of California Wildfires on Capital Markets
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is closely monitoring the impact of the California wildfires on investors and capital markets. The SEC divisions and offices that oversee companies, accountants, investment advisers, mutual funds, brokerage firms, transfer agents, and other regulated entities and investment professionals will continue to closely track developments. They will evaluate the possibility of granting relief from filing...
2025-01-15 9:48 AM EST
SEC Announces Chief Accountant Paul Munter to Retire From Federal Service This Month
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 14, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Chief Accountant Paul Munter plans to retire from federal service effective Jan. 24, 2025. Mr. Munter joined the agency in 2019, was named Acting Chief Accountant in 2021, and was appointed Chief Accountant in January 2023. “I thank Paul for his leadership of the Office of the Chief Accountant, his counsel, and his clear accounting advice,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “As Chief...
2025-01-14 2:32 PM EST
SEC Charges Advisory Firm Navy Capital With Misrepresenting Its Anti-Money Laundering Procedures to Investors
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 14, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Connecticut-based investment adviser Navy Capital Green Management, LLC with making misrepresentations related to its anti-money laundering (AML) procedures and for compliance failures. Navy Capital agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and pay a $150,000 civil penalty. The SEC’s order finds that, from at least October 2018 until January 2022, Navy Capital stated in offering and other...
2025-01-14 11:58 AM EST
Three Investment Adviser Representatives Settle SEC Charges for Acting as Unregistered Brokers
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 14, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against investment adviser representatives Tamir Shabat, Danny Z. Spiegel, and Joseph J. Orlando, Jr. for acting as unregistered brokers in selling membership interests in LLCs that purported to invest in shares of pre-IPO companies. The SEC also announced settled charges against VCP Financial LLC stemming from its use of impermissible liability disclaimers in a...
2025-01-14 10:38 AM EST
Twelve Firms to Pay More Than $63 Million Combined to Settle SEC's Charges for Recordkeeping Failures
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 13, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against nine investment advisers and three broker-dealers for failures by the firms and their personnel to maintain and preserve electronic communications, in violation of recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws. The firms admitted the facts set forth in their respective SEC orders, acknowledged that their conduct violated recordkeeping provisions of the...
2025-01-13 5:08 PM EST
Two Robinhood Broker-Dealers to Pay $45 Million in Combined Penalties for Violating More Than 10 Separate Securities Law Provisions
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 13, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that broker-dealers Robinhood Securities LLC and Robinhood Financial LLC (collectively, Robinhood) have agreed to pay $45 million in combined civil penalties to settle a range of SEC charges arising from their brokerage operations. “It is essential to the Commission’s broader efforts to protect investors and promote the integrity and fairness of our markets that broker-dealers...
2025-01-13 4:30 PM EST
SEC Charges Former Public Company Officer and His Sister-In-Law with Insider Trading
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 13, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Alfred V. Tobia, Jr., the former president and chief investment officer (CIO) of one public company and a member of the board of another, and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Lee, with insider trading that resulted in more than $428,000 in illegal profits. The defendants have agreed to pay more than $1.36 million to settle the charges. According to the SEC’s complaint, Tobia allegedly...
2025-01-13 2:54 PM EST
SEC Charges BMO Capital Markets with Failing to Supervise Agency Bond Desk
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 13, 2025) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged registered broker-dealer BMO Capital Markets Corp. with failing to supervise employees who, from December 2020 until May 2023, sold mortgage-backed bonds using offering sheets and bond metrics that were misleading and did not accurately describe the characteristics of the collateral backing the bonds. To settle the charges, BMO agreed to pay more than $40 million in disgorgement,...
2025-01-13 9:10 AM EST