SEC Settlements

SEC’s Use of In-House Judge in Insider Trading Case is Likely Unconstitutional, Rules Federal Judge

Published on: June 9, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A federal judge has ruled that the decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission to have an in-house judge in an insider trading case was “likely unconstitutional.” In the wake of his decision, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May agreed to put a temporary stop to the regulator’s administrative case against Charles Hill unless the case is presided over by a judge who fulfills the requirement for constitutional appointment. The hearing in the insider trading case against Hill was scheduled to begin next week.

Hill, a self-employed Atlanta real estate developer, disputes the regulator’s allegations that he made illicit gains of $744K from trading on a tip a friend purportedly provided about the takeover of Radiant Systems Incorporated. The company was about to be acquired by NCR Corp. for $1.2 billion in 2011.

Hill filed his own lawsuit against the SEC, challenging its decision to have in-house administrative law judge James Grimes preside over his case. Grimes was retained through the SEC’s office of in-house judges instead of having the appointment approved by the regulator’s commissioners. Now Judge May is saying, per Hill’s argument, that the Commission may have broken constitutional protections.

Merrill Lynch to Settle Short-Selling Case for $11M, Admits to Wrongdoing

Published on: June 2, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The SEC said that Merrill Lynch (MER) would pay $11 million to resolve allegations of short-selling-related noncompliance. The regulator said that the wirehouse executed short sales in certain securities when the supply for this type of transaction was restricted.

Customers frequently ask brokerage firms to “locate” stock that can be used for short selling. The financial firms generate easy-to-borrow lists made up of the stock they believe is accessible for such locates. However, contends the SEC, from January 2008 through January 2014 Merrill used information that was dated to create these ETB lists.

For example, there were times when certain securities that were placed on the ETB list in the morning were no longer as easily available for borrowing later in the trading day. Yet Merrill’s platforms were set up so that they continued to process short sale orders according to the now-dated list—even as firm personnel appropriately stopped using the list for sourcing locates when certain shares’ availability had become restricted.

Deutsche Bank Ordered to Pay $55M for Misstating Financial Reports During the Economic Crisis

Published on: May 26, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is ordering Deutsche Bank AG (DB) to pay $55M to resolve charges accusing the firm of misstating financial reports during the peak of economic crisis. The regulator believes that the financial institution did not factor the material risk for possible losses of billions of dollars.

According to the regulator, in its order instituting a resolved administrative proceeding, Deutsche Bank overvalued a derivatives portfolio the bank had used to buy protection against losses involving credit default. Due to the to the Leveraged Super Senior trades’ “leveraged” nature the collateral for the positions was minimal compared to the $98 billion in purchased protections.

This generated a “gap risk” that the protection’s market value could potentially go beyond the available collateral. Also, because the sellers that put down the collateral could choose to unwind the trade instead of putting more collateral down in such a situation, this meant that technically the bank was protected only up to its collateral level and not its credit protection’s full market value.

BlackRock Advisors Settles SEC Charges Over Conflict of Interest Disclosures for $12M

Published on: April 25, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

BlackRock Advisors (BLK) has consented to be pay $12M resolve Securities and Exchange Commission charges claiming that a conflict of interest that occurred because a former portfolio manager’s outside business activity was not disclosed. Additionally, the firm agreed to a censure and will retain an independent compliance consultant to perform a review.

According to the regulator, when Daniel J. Rice III founded Rice Energy, an oil and natural gas company, he was also managing energy-focused funds and separately managed accounts at the firm. Also, he’d invested $50M in Rice Energy and was general partner.

The oil and natural gas company eventually went into a joint venture that became the biggest holding in the BlackRock Energy & Resources Portfolio. This also happened to be the biggest fund managed by Rice.

BATS Global Market Settles Stock Exchange-Related Claims Involving High-Frequency Traders for $14M

Published on: January 13, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is charging BATS Global Markets Inc. $14 million to resolve claims that two of the exchanges that the company purchased last year did not disclose important information to investors about the way the markets work. The settlement resolves the regulator’s probe into the way Direct Edge Holdings LLC gave certain high-speed traders the upper hand over others by withholding details about certain orders. Direct Edge and BATS merged together in 2014.

Order types are the directions investors use to trade on exchanges. High-frequency traders will often use complex versions of order types to compete in today’s fast markets. In 2009, Direct Edge offered up a number of new order types after talking with two high-frequency trading firms. However, what it purportedly did not do was properly disclose to the pubic the way the order types worked.

In the SEC order, the agency notes that one trading firm, whose name was not disclosed, told Direct Edge that if it introduced a certain order type, the firm would up the number of orders by over four million more.

Ex-Ameriprise Manager Who Helped with SAC Capital Insider Trading Case Settles Charges Against Her

Published on: December 9, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Former Ameriprise Financial (AMP) Manager Reema D. Shah, who pleaded guilty to securities fraud earlier this year, will pay $390,103 to settle both the criminal and Securities and Exchange Commission cases against her. Shah, who was a tech stock picker for Ameriprise subsidiary RiverSource Investments, LLC, illegally recommended Yahoo Inc. stock in 2009 after she became privy to nonpublic data about a search engine partnership between the technology company and Microsoft Corp.

According to government officials, Shah traded information between ’04 and ’09 with research analysts, hedge fund managers, and consultants, including Robert W. Kwok, who was the source of the data about Yahoo and Microsoft. Shah previously gave information to Kwok about the company Autodesk and its acquisition of Moldflow Corporation. Kwok went on to buy 1,500 Moldflow shares, allegedly because of the tip, and made a $4,750 profit.

The regulator claims that because of the insider trading information that Kwok gave her, Shah compelled certain funds that she helped manage to buy about $700,000 Yahoo shares. These were later sold at a $388,807 profit.

SEC Claims Fraud Involving a REIT and Bogus Senior Resident Occupants

Published on: December 3, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

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 with a scam that included bogus disclosures and manipulation of records and books when it started to look as if Wisconsin-based assisted living provider was going to default on covenants in a lease agreement with Ventas Inc., which is a real estate investment trust.

Per the covenants, ALC was obligated to keep up minimum occupancy rates and coverage rations while running the facilities or otherwise default on the lease. A default would have obligated the company to pay whatever rent was due for the lease’s remainder of term, which would have been tens of millions of dollars.

According to the SEC Enforcement Division, to meet covenant requirements Buono and Bebo told accounting personnel to work out coverage ratios and occupancy rates by factoring in phony occupants. These nonexistent occupants included Bebo’s relatives and friends, in addition to previous and former ALC employees (including some who had been fired and who hadn’t yet been officially hired), as well as a seven-year-old “senior resident.” Without this false information, contends the agency, ALC would have not met convenant requirements by substantial margins for several quarters in a row.

Shareholder’s $40B Class Action Securities Lawsuit Over AIG Bailout Goes to Trial

Published on: September 29, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The trial over whether the U.S. government unlawfully seized a majority stake in American International Group Inc. (AIG) during the bailout has started. The securities case was brought by Starr International Co., which is the charitable and investment firm helmed by former AIG CEO Maurice R. Greenberg. Starr was the insurer’s biggest shareholder when the company became a ward of the government at the height of the economic crisis.

The lawsuit, now a class action case, claims that government violated the rights of shareholders to receive fair compensation under the U.S. Constitution. Some 300,000 AIG stockholders from 2008 and 2009, including AIG employees, large mutual fund companies, and retirees, would be entitled to any award issued to Starr. Greenberg wants about $40 billion in compensation over the government takeover and the high interest rates the U.S. charged for the loans. AIG is not one of the plaintiffs.

The insurance giant got into financial trouble in the wake of the financial crisis mostly because of sales of an insurance of the unregulated variety to banks and others, which was intended to mitigate debt exposure risks. The government loaned AIG $85 billion in 2008 to keep it from falling into bankruptcy. In opening statements, Kenneth Dintzer, a lawyer for the U.S., noted that the insurance company’ shareholders hugely benefitted from the efforts made to stabilize AIG. The government maintains that it had to bailout AIG to keep the world economy from collapsing.

Barclays to Pay $15M SEC Settlement Over Compliance Failures Following Lehman Brothers Acquisition, Pays $61.7M Fine to U.K.’s FCA Over Client Asset Issues

Published on: September 24, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Barclays Capital Inc. (BARC) has consented to pay $15 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve civil charges claiming that it did not make sure the financial institution was in proper compliance with securities laws and its own rules after acquiring Lehman Brothers’ advisory division. According to the regulator, the firm did not adopt and execute written procedures and policies or keep up the needed records and books to stop certain violations.

For example, says the SEC, Barclays executed over 1,500 principal transactions with advisory client accounts but did not seek the necessary written disclosures and get the requisite customer consent. It also made money and charged fees and commissions that were not consistent with disclosures for 2,785 advisory client accounts, underreported assets under management by $754 million when amending its Form ADV a few years ago, and violated the Advisers Act’s custody provisions.

The violations caused clients to lose about $472,000 and pay more than they should have, while Barclays made additional revenue that was greater than $3.1 million. Barclays has since paid back or credited $3.8 million plus interest to customers who were affected. It also consented to remedial action and will retain a compliance consultant to perform an internal review.

Pennsylvania Private Equity Firm Settles SEC Charges Over “Pay to Play” Violations Related to Political Campaign Contributions

Published on: June 23, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

TL Ventures Inc. has agreed to pay almost $300,000 to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges. The regulator contends that the Pennsylvania-based private equity firm violated “pay-to-play” rules for advisory fees it continued to get from state pension funds and the city of Philadelphia even after an associate made campaign contributions to the mayoral candidate and the state’s governor.

This is the SEC’s first case under the investment advisers’ pay-to-play rules, which went into effect in 2010. Under the rules, investment adviser are not allowed to provide compensatory services via pooled investment vehicles or to a government client for two years after a firm or one of its associates makes campaign contributions to political candidates or anyone able to impact the retention of advisers to oversee government client assets.

Philadelphia’s mayor gets to appoint three members of the Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement. Pennsylvania’s governor gets to choose six of the state’s retirement system board members.