The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that two ex-executives at Assisted Living Concepts Inc. committed fraud by listing bogus occupants at certain senior residences to satisfy the lease requirements to run the facilities. The regulator is accusing former CFO John Buono and previous CEO Laurie Bebo of coming up…
Articles Posted in SEC Enforcement
SEC Files Charges Against Former Broker-Dealer Owner Over Fraudulent Stock Sales
The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Vinay Kumar Nevatia with making fraudulent stock sales. According to the regulator, Kumar sold about $900,000 of stock in CSS Corp. Technologies Limited. The stock in the privately held data technology company supposedly belonged to him even though these were shares that he…
SEC Enforcement: Wedbush Settles SEC Probe for $2.4M, High-Frequency Trading Firm Gets $16M Penalty, and the Regulator Suspends Companies Touting Ebola Treatment
Wedbush Settles Market Access Violation Case for $2.44M Wedbush Securities has agreed to settle a market access violations case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by admitting to wrongdoing and paying $2.44 million. The brokerage firm has also agreed to hire an independent consultant. According to the SEC order,…
SEC Issues 2014 Whistleblower Program Report
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2014 Annual Report to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program, the regulator issued nine whistleblower awards, including one $30 million award issued to one whistleblower. The report states that over 40% of those who received awards were either former or present employees of…
SEC Working on Mutual Fund Regulations, Conducts Dark Pool Probes, Enacts New Exchange Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is developing regulations that would make sure that mutual funds are liquid enough to satisfy client redemptions and money managers have a plan should a fund fail. Part of the regulator’s strategy may include limiting how mutual funds are allowed to place in assets…
SEC Wants $602M Fund Set Up for Victims of SAC Capital’s Insider Trading
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is asking a district judge to authorize a fair fund to pay back people shareholders who didn’t participate in an insider trading scam involving shares of Wyeth LLC and Elan Corp. PLC. The regulator is seeking to reimburse people who traded the stocks over…
SEC Files Charges in Massachusetts Pump-And-Dump Scam, International Microcap Fraud, and Issues Investor Alert
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against California Attorney Richard Weed, Coleman Flaherty, and Thomas Brazil. The regulator contends that Weed facilitated a pump and dump scam involving CitySide Tickets Inc. stock that allowed Flaherty and Brazil to get millions of supposedly unrestricted shares. Investors were barraged…
SEC Fines E*TRADE Subsidiaries Over $1M Penalty for Unregistered Microcap Securities Sales, Puts Out Risk Alert Regarding Broker-Dealer Duties To Clients
Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission put out a Risk Alert reminding brokerage firms about their duties when they take part in unregistered transactions for customers. The guidance came, along with the announcement that the agency had filed an enforcement action against former and current E*TRADE Financial…
SEC to Reject BlackRock Inc. Proposal for Nontransparent Exchange-Traded Fund
In a preliminary ruling, The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it expects to reject BlackRock Inc.’s (BLK) proposal to put out a nontransparent exchange-traded fund. BlackRock sought permission to sell the ETF from the regulator in 2011. The fund wants to keep its investments secret, which go against SEC…
During Fiscal Year 2014, SEC Files Record Number of Enforcement Actions
According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency filed a record number of enforcement actions in 2014. Concluding the fiscal year on September 30, the regulator announced that it filed 755 SEC enforcement actions and obtained orders of $4.16 billion in disgorgement and penalties. Last year, the agency…