SEC Charges Roger Bliss With Obstruction of Justice
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 2, 2015 that an alleged investment club fraudster whose assets were frozen in an SEC enforcement action earlier this year has now been criminally charged by a grand jury for… Read More
SEC Charges Trinity Capital Corporation with Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 28, 2015 that Trinity Capital Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Los Alamos National Bank, have agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle accounting fraud charges. An SEC investigation found… Read More
EPermaPave Industries Is A Ponzi Scheme – Brenda Hamilton Attorney
-Posted by Brenda Hamilton- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 2, 2015 that U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff has ordered that Defendants Eric Aronson, Fredric Aaron, and Vincent Buonauro must each disgorge all… Read More
SEC Charges Eldrick Woodley with Embezzlement of Client Funds
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 22, 1015, filed fraud charges against Eldrick Woodley, a Houston-based investment advisor, for the embezzlement of more than $147,000 in client capital. According to the SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District… Read More
SEC Charges Hitachi, LTD. With Violation of FCPA
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 28, 2015 charged Tokyo-based conglomerate Hitachi, Ltd. with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) when it falsified documents regarding payments to South Africa’s ruling political party connected with contracts to… Read More
SEC Files Charges Against Ralph Pirtle and Morando Berrettini for Insider Trading
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 25, 2015 that on September 24, 2015, a jury in federal district court in Chicago, Illinois, returned a verdict finding Ralph J. Pirtle and Morando Berrettini responsible for insider… Read More
SEC Charges GenAudio and CEO With Fraudulent Stock Offerings
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil injunctive action on September 25, 2015, in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado relating to the fraudulent offer and sale of stock in GenAudio, Inc. The SEC… Read More
SEC Charges Six in Securities Fraud Scheme
On September 24, 2015 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged six men, including a father and three sons, with securities fraud associated with Gerova Financial Group Ltd., whose shares once traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In a parallel… Read More
$32 Million Amber Mining Pyramid Scheme Halted by the SEC
On October 1, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced it had frozen the assets and filed fraud charges against the operator of a worldwide pyramid scheme who falsely promised investors that they would profit from a… Read More
FINRA Expels Halcyon Cabot Partners
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has expelled Halcyon Cabot Partners, Ltd., and barred Chief Executive Officer Michael Morris and Chief Compliance Officer Ronald Heineman from the securities industry, for securities fraud, sales practice… Read More
SEC Settles Aiding and Abetting Charges Against Joseph Apuzzo
On September 8, 2015, Judge Alvin Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut entered a judgment against Joseph Apuzzo, former Chief Financial Officer of Terex Corporation. Apuzzo consented, without admitting or denying the allegations… Read More
Anthony Knight Barred, Enjoined, and Fined for Unregistered Securities
On Thursday, September 3, 2015, United States District Court Judge Denis R. Hurley of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued an order and judgment imposing relief against Defendant Anthony Knight, the… Read More
Consultant Charged With Insider Trading
On September 23, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a consultant and his friend with insider trading in the options of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro based on nonpublic information about an impending acquisition offer. The SEC… Read More
SEC Announces New Resource – Going Public Attorneys
Posted By the Going Public Attorneys On September 24, 2015, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a new resource on its website that is designed to enhance transparency by providing information about the SEC proposals and rulemaking… Read More
Former Fannie Mae Executives Resolve Subprime and Reduced Documentation Disclosure Case with SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 22, 2015 that the Honorable Paul A. Crotty of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has entered an Order approving a stipulation and… Read More
SEC v. Two Men Who Defrauded Investors
On September 21, 2015 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two men behind a scheme that defrauded investors in YaFarm Technologies Inc., a company that purported to provide stem cell therapy. The SEC’s complaint filed in federal… Read More
SEC Charges Penny Stock Company and CEO with Fraud and Issuing a False Press Release
On September 15, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a microcap issuer, The Mobile Star Corporation, and its CEO George Ivakhnik, with defrauding investors by issuing false press releases about the company’s business and prospects…. Read More
SEC Obtains Final Judgement Against Julio Cruz for Targeting Latino Communities with Pyramid Scheme
On September 17, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on September 16, 2015, the federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, entered a final judgment against defendant Julio Cruz of Duluth, Georgia, a defendant in a previously-filed… Read More
James Meagher Enjoined in Penny Stock Case
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 16, 2015 that Chief Judge Gregory M. Sleet of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware entered a final default judgment against Defendant James Meagher on… Read More
SEC Charges Robert Milligan With Securities Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 18, 2015 charges against Robert DeWayne Milligan, who was president of a California-based business known as America’s Natural Energy (“ANE”), for engaging in the fraudulent offering of unregistered securities…. Read More
Eric McPhail Sentenced in Insider Trading Action
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that, on September 18, 2015, Eric McPhail was sentenced to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release for his role in an insider trading ring that traded inside information… Read More
SEC Charges Florida Based CPA For Bogus Audit Opinions
On September 17, 2015 the SEC imposed sanctions against a Florida based CPA for producing deficient and fraudulent audits and quarterly reviews for eight publicly traded companies, issuing false and misleading audit opinions on the companies’ annual… Read More
U3 Halt of SWK Holdings Explained by FINRA, and Lifted Quickly
We recently wrote about a bungled dividend distribution made by Calissio Resources Group, Inc. (CRGP) that resulted in the imposition of a U3 “extraordinary event” trading halt by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). The halt was lifted… Read More
FINRA’s Disclosure Requirements In EB-5 Offerings
FINRA Rule 2040 became effective late last month and has the potential to provide increased transparency in EB-5 Offerings. Rule 2040 requires broker-dealers who sell securities in EB-5 offerings to disclose finder’s fees paid to non-registered foreign persons and receive… Read More
Investor Alert – Messaging Apps & Pump and Dump Scams
On September 2, 2015, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued an investor alert warning about investor relations activity and stock promotions sent through popular messaging applications (Apps) such as WhatsApp. These messaging Apps allow users to almost… Read More
