Ex-Hedge Fund Exec Pleads Guilty to $1M Investment Fraud In the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, ex-hedge fund principal Berton Hochfeld pleaded guilty to wire fraud and securities charges over his alleged role in an investment scam that bilked investors of over $1M. He had…
Articles Posted in SEC Enforcement
Federal Records Act Lawsuit Seeking to Make the SEC Reconstruct About 9,000 Enforcement-Related Documents is Dismissed
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has decided to dismiss the last two counts in the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s Federal Records Act lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission. The public interest group wants to make the SEC reconstruct about 9,000 documents related…
SEC Whistleblower Office Will Place More Emphasis on Anti-Retaliation Provisions and Publicity This Year
According to Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Whistleblower Chief Sean McKessy, the unit will take a more aggressive approach to publicizing its activities and figuring out how to better enforce the anti-retaliation provisions of its bounty program. McKessy spoke at the DC Bar organized enforcement conference earlier this…
SEC News Roundup: Commission to Present Money Market Mutual Fund Reform Proposal, Achieves Record Number of Insider Trading Settlements During FY 2012
Commission to Present Money Funds Reform Proposal According to SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher, staff members are putting together a money market mutual fund reform proposal that will address the problems that occurred in 2008. Another area that will likely be looked at more closely in the proposal would be the…
SEC Roundup: Lawmakers Question Structural Reform Costs, Enforcement Director Khuzami to Step Down, & New Commission Chairman Names General Counsel is Named
Lawmakers Question the SEC About Costs Related to Structural Reform Per the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s Section 967, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been tasked with assessing how to restructure its operations to better its use of internal communications and resources. The restructuring plan is…
SEC Roundup: Massachusetts Investment Adviser Gets $1.78M Judgment and Allianz to Pay $12.3M to Settle Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Lawsuit
Massachusetts Investment Adviser Gets $1.78M Judgment In a final judgment, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts says that EagleEye Asset Management LLC and its principal Jeffrey A. Liskov must pay a $1.78M judgment for using a foreign currency exchange trading scam to defraud clients. The Securities and…
SEC To Enhance Company Filings Scrutiny with Broader Corporate Review Process
BNA reports that sources say that the Securities and Exchange Commission will likely widen its corporate filing review process to improve how it scrutinizes financial statements that are publicly filed by registered companies, as well as other documents. The program, referred to as “continuous review,” was set up a few…
Alleged Cherry-Picking Scam Leads to SEC Charges Against California Hedge Fund Manager
Investment advisory firm Aletheia Research and Management, Inc. and its owner hedge fund manager Peter J. Eichler, Jr. are facing Securities and Exchange Commission charges over their alleged involvement in a cherry-picking scam. They are accused of directing winning trades to their trading acocunts, giving preferences to some clients at…
Morgan Keegan Founder Faces SEC Charges Over Mortgage-Backed Securities Asset Pricing in Mutual Funds
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against Morgan Keegan founder Allen Morgan Jr. and several other former mutual fund board members for allegedly failing to supervise the managers accused of inaccurately pricing toxic mortgage-backed assets prior to the financial crisis. According to Reuters, this is a…
“Tone” of SEC Probe Can May Be Affected by Self-Reporting, Says Enforcement Division Official
According to Securities and Exchange Commission Stephen Cohen, when an entity self-reports possible wrongdoing, the “tone” of the SEC investigation into the matter may be impacted in a manner that benefits that party. Cohen, who spoke while participating at a Securities Docket’s Securities Enforcement Forum panel in DC last month…