Whistleblower rights are growing stronger. The recent award of a reward in excess of $100 million to a whistleblower will certainly attract those looking for financial reward. Dodd-Frank not only increased the chances of getting a reward, it also provided broader rights to employees and the courts are starting to rule strongly in favor of … Read more »
SEC Brings a Pay-to-Play Action
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a “pay-to-play” case against Goldman Sachs and one of its former investment bankers, Neil M.M. Morrison. The SEC alleges that Goldman and Morrison made undisclosed campaign contributions to then-Massachusetts state treasurer Timothy P. Cahill while he was a candidate for governor. The case was brought under the Municipal Securities … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for September 28
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention: Mass. Securities Chief Urges SEC to Establish Accredited Investor Methods under JOBS Act Reg. D Measure in Jim Hamilton’s World of Securities Regulations In a letter to the SEC, the Massachusetts Securities Commissioner and Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin said that in the proposed … Read more »
Why Have a Compliance Program?
I’m working on presentation for a continuing education program and decided to step back and look at the basics. I went all the way back to “why?” You Are Required Sometimes the answer is easy. You have to have a compliance program. Your company is in a heavily regulated industry that explicitly requires a formal … Read more »
No Language Barrier to Prosecuting Insider Trading
The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that Waldyr Da Silva Prado Neto, a citizen of Brazil who was working for Wells Fargo in Miami, learned about an impending acquisition and profited illegally from insider information. The SEC was apparently undeterred by the language barrier in filing its action. The SEC claims that Prado, while a … Read more »
Recent SEC Document Request for Private Equity
It appears the Securities and Exchange Commission has started its initial examination program for newly registered investment advisers, including private equity fund managers. This is a recent document request list sent by Boston’s regional office: August Boston document request (.pdf). The request list is shorter than the typical request letter. This seems to be in … Read more »
Insider Trading is a Victimless Crime (?)
Dilbert September 13, 2012 Read more »
Senate Races and SEC Limits on Political Contributions
Last year a new rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission went into effect that limited the ability of investment advisers and private fund managers to make political campaign contributions. The purpose was to prevent some illicit pay-to-play activity by government officials who control government sponsored investment funds. With the close of the national political … Read more »
The Vice President and SEC’s Pay to Play Rule
Now that the Democratic and Republican conventions have ended and the presidential tickets are final, we can look at how the SEC’s new rule on political contributions will affect the November election. It won’t. Early in the Republican contest for the nomination, Rick Perry was on the watch list under Rule 206(4)-5. Since he could … Read more »
Real Estate Investment Fraud or Securities Fraud?
The SEC announced an asset freeze against Western Financial Planning Corporation and its principal Louis Schooler. At first the situation sounded like a complaint against a real estate investment fund, but after reviewing the complaint, I found it to be a much more twisted tale. The defendants have not agreed to settle with the SEC, … Read more »