Doug Cornelius on compliance for private equity real estate
Can the Securities and Exchange Commission penalize an investment banker even though he did not “make” false statements? The SEC is claiming that his distribution of those false statements constituted a “device, scheme, or artifice to defraud” or an “act, practice, or course of business which operates . . . as a fraud or deceit” … Read more »
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced awards totalling $50 million to whistleblowers who brought high-quality information to the SEC and assisted in bringing a successful enforcement action. As with all whistleblower awards, the order is heavily redacted as to the company involved, what happened, and when it happened. I’m not sure I can identify which … Read more »
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. The Federal Courts Are Running An Online Scam by Seamus Hughes in Politico But I’m here to tell you that PACER—Public Access to Court Electronic Records—is a judicially approved scam. The very name is misleading: Limiting the public’s access by charging hefty fees, … Read more »
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Listing Gaps, Merger Waves, and the Privatization of U.S. Equity Finance by Gabriele Lattanzio, William L. Megginson and Ali Sanati in The CLS Blue Sky Blog The number of U.S. listed companies declined by almost half between 1996 and 2012, from 8,090 to 4,102, … Read more »
Enforcement actions by financial regulators can cause compliance professionals to rethink their career choice. In the majority of cases the SEC brings against CCOs, (1) the compliance officers are involved in misconduct that is unrelated to their compliance function or (2) the CCOs have engaged in efforts to obstruct or mislead the investigation. Typically in … Read more »
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention, The Fall of the Alamo: Analogy for Compliance Officers by Tom Fox in FCPA Compliance & Ethics [March 6] is the anniversary of the most historic day of many in the history of the great state of Texas, the date of the fall … Read more »
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. CCOs Facing Retaliation by Matt Kelly in Radical Compliance So how should a compliance or audit professional handle retaliation? When should you take your concerns to regulators, or contemplate a lawsuit against your employer? To explore those questions I spoke with Jason Zuckerman, … Read more »
The SEC cancelled the adviser registration of an internet investment adviser because it never launched its website. Kevin Ajenifuja registered his firms with the SEC by filing its Form ADV on May 28, 2015. He stated the eligibility for registration was because the firm was an “Internet Investment Adviser.” Internet investment advisers typically are not … Read more »
The Custody Rule is full of foot-faults. The concept is easy: have a third party make sure that the investment adviser is not stealing money. That turns out to be a bit harder in execution. Mohlman Asset Management Fund was using the accounting firm Katz, Sapper & Miller, LLP to help with its funds’ financial … Read more »
Apparently, the blockchain makes everything cooler as a way to invest. Even securities laws shouldn’t get in the way. Reginald Buddy Ringgold, III thought he had escaped from the grasp of the SEC when a court refued to issue a preliminary injunction against his Blockvest ICO. The court changed its mind and slapped an injunction … Read more »