SEC Charges Four Long Island Men with Perpetrating $2 Million "Free-Riding" Scheme
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - October 31, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against Eduardo Hernandez, Christopher Flagg, Daquan Lloyd, and Corey Ortiz, all currently or formerly of Long Island, New York, for perpetrating a multi-year “free-riding” scheme that generated more than $2 million in illicit profits. The SEC alleges that, from approximately November 2018 through January 2022, the defendants opened brokerage accounts (the victim...
2023-10-31 1:58 PM EDT
SEC Charges SolarWinds and Chief Information Security Officer with Fraud, Internal Control Failures
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - October 30, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Austin, Texas-based software company SolarWinds Corporation and its chief information security officer, Timothy G. Brown, for fraud and internal control failures relating to allegedly known cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities. The complaint alleges that, from at least its October 2018 initial public offering through at least its December 2020 announcement that it...
2023-10-30 4:40 PM EDT
SEC Charges BlackRock with Failing to Properly Disclose Investments by Publicly Traded Fund it Advised
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - October 24, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged BlackRock Advisors, LLC, an investment adviser, for failing to accurately describe investments in the entertainment industry that comprised a significant portion of a publicly traded fund it advised. To settle the charges, BlackRock agreed to pay a $2.5 million penalty. The SEC’s order finds that, from 2015 to 2019, BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust (BIT) made significant...
2023-10-24 4:24 PM EDT
SEC Proposes Rule to Address Volume-Based Exchange Transaction Pricing for NMS Stocks
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - October 18, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed a new rule that would prohibit national securities exchanges from offering volume-based transaction pricing in connection with the execution of agency or riskless principal (“agency-related”) orders in NMS stocks. The proposal also would require national securities exchanges to have certain anti-evasion rules and written policies and procedures and disclose certain information if they...
2023-10-18 11:24 AM EDT
SEC Obtains Emergency Relief To Halt Nearly $130 Million Fraud Targeting Indian American Community
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - October 16, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it obtained a temporary restraining order, asset freeze, and other emergency relief to halt an ongoing fraud targeting the Indian American community that has raised nearly $130 million since April 2021. The fraud is allegedly being conducted by Nanban Ventures LLC, its three founders Gopala Krishnan (aka GK), Manivannan Shanmugam, and Sakthivel Palani Gounder (collectively,...
2023-10-16 3:10 PM EDT
SEC Division of Examinations Announces 2024 Priorities
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - October 16, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations today released its 2024 examination priorities to inform investors and registrants of the key risks, examination topics, and priorities that the Division plans to focus on in the upcoming year. This year’s examinations will prioritize areas that pose emerging risks to investors or the markets in addition to core and perennial risk areas. “The Division of Examinations plays...
2023-10-16 11:02 AM EDT
SEC Adopts Rule to Increase Transparency Into Short Selling and Amendment to CAT NMS Plan for Purposes of Short Sale Data Collection
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - October 13, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted new Rule 13f-2 to provide greater transparency to investors and other market participants by increasing the public availability of short sale related data. Congress directed the SEC in Section 929X of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 to promulgate rules to make certain short sale data publicly available. “In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Congress directed the SEC to enhance the...
2023-10-13 12:24 PM EDT
SEC Adopts Amendments to Rules Governing Beneficial Ownership Reporting
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - October 10, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted rule amendments governing beneficial ownership reporting under Sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The amendments update Regulation 13D-G to require market participants to provide more timely information on their positions to meet the needs of investors in today’s financial markets. “Today’s adoption updates rules that first went into effect more than 50...
2023-10-10 1:31 PM EDT
SEC Spotlights Due Diligence During World Investor Week 2023
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - October 2, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced it will highlight the importance of investor education and protection during World Investor Week (WIW) 2023, which takes place October 2-8. Arising technologies and new digital tools are making it easier and quicker to invest. Taking time to do due diligence can help investors avoid fraud and make better informed investment decisions. This marks the seventh year of WIW, a global...
2023-10-02 11:08 AM EDT
SEC, MSRB, & FINRA to Hold Virtual Compliance Outreach Program
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced that registration is open for a virtual Compliance Outreach Program for municipal market professionals. The free webcast is open to the public and will take place on Thursday, December 7, 2023, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. The program will provide municipal market participants an...
2023-09-29 3:11 PM EDT
SEC Charges International Accounting Firm Prager Metis with Hundreds of Auditor Independence Violations
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against accounting firm Prager Metis CPAs, LLC and its California professional services firm, Prager Metis CPAs LLP, (together, Prager) for violating auditor independence rules and for aiding and abetting their clients’ violations of federal securities laws. According to the SEC’s complaint, between approximately December 2017 and October 2020, Prager improperly included...
2023-09-29 11:40 AM EDT
SEC Charges 10 Firms with Widespread Recordkeeping Failures
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against five broker-dealers, three dually registered broker-dealers and investment advisers, and two affiliated investment advisers for widespread and longstanding failures to maintain and preserve electronic communications. The firms admitted the facts set forth in their respective SEC orders and acknowledged that their conduct violated recordkeeping provisions of the...
2023-09-29 9:24 AM EDT
SEC Charges Two Credit Rating Agencies, DBRS and KBRA, with Longstanding Recordkeeping Failures
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against credit rating agencies DBRS Inc. and Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC (KBRA) for longstanding failures to preserve electronic records, including off-channel communications on personal and work-issued devices. Additionally, the SEC charged DBRS with violating disclosure and internal control provisions of the federal securities laws in rating certain commercial...
2023-09-29 9:15 AM EDT
SEC Charges Newell Brands and Former CEO for Misleading Investors About Sales Performance
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Newell Brands Inc., a Georgia-based consumer products company and its former CEO, Michael Polk, with misleading investors about Newell’s core sales growth, a non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial measure the company used to explain its underlying sales trends. Both parties agreed to settle the SEC charges. The SEC’s order finds that, in 2016 and 2017, Newell...
2023-09-29 8:47 AM EDT
Albemarle Corp. to Pay SEC More Than $103 Million to Settle FCPA Violations
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 29, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Charlotte-based Albemarle Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company, agreed to pay more than $103.6 million to settle the SEC’s charges that it violated the anti-bribery, recordkeeping, and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to the SEC’s Order, despite significant red flags, Albemarle used agents from at least...
2023-09-29 8:11 AM EDT
SEC Charges Electric Vehicle Co. for Misleading Revenue Projections Ahead of SPAC Merger
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 28, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Denver-based Spruce Power Holding Corporation, the successor to XL Fleet Corp., for misleading investors about revenue projections that topped $1 billion within three years of going public. XL Fleet, which provided hybrid electric vehicle systems for commercial fleet vehicles, went public through a 2020 merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). According to the SEC’s...
2023-09-28 6:58 PM EDT
SEC Charges Exelon, its Subsidiary Commonwealth Edison, and Subsidiary's Former CEO Anne Pramaggiore with Fraud in Connection with Political Corruption Scheme
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 28, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Exelon Corporation, electric utility company Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd), which is Exelon’s subsidiary, and former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore with fraud in connection with a multi-year scheme to corruptly influence and reward then-Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Michael Madigan. Exelon and ComEd agreed to settle the charges, with Exelon paying a civil penalty...
2023-09-28 5:16 PM EDT
SEC Charges Former Pareteum Executives with Accounting and Disclosure Fraud
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 28, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against the former Chief Financial Officer, Edward O’Donnell, and the former Chief Commercial Officer, Victor Bozzo, of New York-based telecommunications company Pareteum Corp. for engaging in fraudulent revenue recognition practices. The SEC also announced settled charges against Pareteum’s former Controller, Stanley Stefanski, for his role in the scheme. Pareteum...
2023-09-28 10:55 AM EDT
SEC Charges Former Financial Industry Analyst and Three Others with Insider Trading
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 28, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Anthony Viggiano, a former analyst at a major investment firm and later at an international investment bank, and Christopher Salamone, Stephen A. Forlano, and Nathan Bleckley, for insider trading in advance of numerous merger and acquisition transactions. According to the SEC’s complaint, in connection with his work at two financial institutions, Viggiano learned...
2023-09-28 10:22 AM EDT
SEC Charges Three Southern California Siblings with Insider Trading
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against siblings Marco A. Perez (aka Marc), Pedro Perez, Jr. (aka Peter), and Olivia P. Durbin for insider trading before the April 2021 announcement of an offer by storage company United Rentals Inc. to acquire General Finance Corp. The three defendants, all of whom reside in Southern California, realized a combined total of $650,000 in illegal profits from their trading. The...
2023-09-27 5:20 PM EDT