All articles by Bruce Carton – Page 12
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Decades Later, the Law of Insider Trading Remains Elusive and Undefined
Over a decade ago, in August 2004, I watched the high-profile Martha Stewart insider trading matter play out as federal prosecutors decided not to charge Stewart with the crime of insider trading, the SEC did pursue a civil lawsuit against her, and the rest of the U.S. seemed to scratch ...
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Feds: Employee Impersonated Firm’s President in SEC Inquiry
As I have noted here before, SEC enforcement actions are civil matters, meaning no matter how badly a defendant may lose the case he or she isn't going to prison. However, there is a one easy way to parlay this situation into jail time, and that is by perjuring yourself ...
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Video: What it Looks Like When Your GC is Wearing a Wire
In April, the criminal trial of former PetroTiger CEO Joseph Sigelman for alleged violations of the FCPA will begin in federal court in Camden, New Jersey. Prosecutors allege that Sigelman bribed a Colombian official at Ecopetrol SA, a state-run energy company, to win a contract for PetroToiger. The WSJ reports ...
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OMG it is #TBT at the SEC!
It is Thursday, so that means it is "Throwback Thursday" on Twitter and other social media sites such as Instagram. Throwback Thursday (referred to on Twitter and elsewhere by the hashtag #TBT) is the day of the week when many Twitter users reminisce by posting an old photo.This morning, for ...
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U.S. Announces New Intelligence Division to Battle Cyber Threats
The U.S. is establishing a new division called the Cyber-Threat Intelligence Integration Center that will produce coordinated cyber-threat assessments, share that information with existing cyber-centers, and support policy makers with timely intelligence about the latest cyber-threats. More inside.
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'Extraordinary' Cooperation Allows SAC Capital Defendant to Avoid Prison
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff sentenced admitted insider trader Noah Freeman to no time in prison due to his "extraordinary" cooperation with prosecutors. Freeman pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud charges related to an insider trading ring in 2011. Judge Rakoff further ordered Freeman to forfeit $181,000.Freeman, a ...
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OCIE Provides Key Observations from 2014 Cybersecurity Examination Initiative
On April 15, 2014, the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations announced that it would be conducting examinations of more than 50 registered broker-dealers and registered investment advisers focused on cybersecurity governance and risk. Until yesterday, there has been little or no information from the SEC concerning the results ...
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Consequences of Insider-Trading Decision Continue
The appellate court decision in U.S. v. Newman has turned Trent Martin from an extradited, admitted insider trader awaiting a sentence of up to several years in prison into a free man. He may not be the last.
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SEC's Erin Schneider Named Associate Regional Director in San Francisco
The SEC has named Erin E. Schneider as the new Associate Regional Director for enforcement in its San Francisco office. As Associate Regional Director, Schneider will lead the team of attorneys, accountants and other professionals who investigate and litigate the San Francisco office’s enforcement efforts for Northern California and the ...
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Feds Seek Rehearing on Insider-Trading Setback
The Justice Department has asked for a new hearing in the case of U.S. vs. Newman, where an appellate decision had previously reversed insider-trading convictions of two men. Prosecutors say the Newman decision has caused difficulties in other recent insider-trading cases, as the definition of the “personal benefit” requirement conflicts ...
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A Closer Look at the SEC's Financial Reporting Cases in FY 2014
As I have previously discussed here in detail, the SEC announced in 2013 that it would be greatly sharpening its focus on accounting fraud cases. Among other things, the agency established a Financial Reporting and Audit Task Force in July 2013 staffed with lawyers and accountants specifically focused on generating ...
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SEC Riding Lengthy Unbeaten Streak in Administrative Proceedings
As I observed here last week, there has been a recent flurry of cases filed by respondents in SEC administrative proceedings claiming that the SEC's use of these "APs" is unconstitutional for various reasons. Indeed, on Friday of last week, one such constitutional challenge was brought by a person who ...
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Former S&P Official Seeks to Pull Plug on 'Imminent' AP Against Her
In recent months, defendants in multiple SEC cases that the agency has brought as administrative proceedings have shot back as plaintiffs in federal court claiming that the SEC's use of these "APs" is unconstitutional. On December 11, 2014, the SEC prevailed in the first of these challenges to be decided ...
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'Digital Currency Working Group' Helped SEC Bring Bitcoin Case
On December 8, 2014, the SEC announced that it had filed an administrative proceeding against a computer programmer for "operating two online venues that traded securities using virtual currencies Bitcoin or Litecoin without registering the venues as broker-dealers or stock exchanges." The programmer, Ethan Burnside, agreed to settle the case ...
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SEC Enforcement – An Analysis of Key Developments in 2014
2014 was another eventful year in the world of SEC enforcement, with a number of "first-ever" cases and other key developments in areas including insider trading, whistleblowers, admissions, trials, administrative proceedings and the SEC's use of new technologies.In a webcast I moderated yesterday, a panel consisting of four former senior ...
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Andrew Weissmann Rejoins DoJ as Chief of Criminal Fraud Section
Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell of the Justice Department announced that Andrew Weissmann has been named chief of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. Weissmann is rejoining the Justice Department, where he previously served as director of the Enron task force.
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Swiss Bank Feels Force of Cyber Attack in the Social Media Age
In June 2014 I wrote here about how the concept of hackers demanding ransom from companies in exchange for the hackers leaving them alone and moving on to other targets was new to me. Just seven months later, we have the U.S. government accusing foreign countries of hacking massive companies ...
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SEC Fights 'Pre-taliation' Against Dodd-Frank Whistleblowers
According to whistleblower lawyer Erika Kelton, companies that fear Dodd-Frank whistleblower programs are aggressively trying to squash potential tips to the SEC through a practice the agency has dubbed "pre-taliation." Kelton, a partner at law firm Phillips & Cohen LLP who recently helped one of her clients obtain the largest ...
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SEC.gov's Top 10 News Stories, Search Terms in 2014
The SEC marked the end of 2014 by tweeting "Top 10" lists of both the most-viewed news stories of 2014 on SEC.gov, as well as the most-searched terms on SEC.gov.Here are 2014's Top 10 most-viewed news stories on SEC.gov: See the list: 2014’s most-viewed news on http://t.co/kacEcWakdu pic.twitter.com/zrASY0Ia9j— SEC_News (@SEC_News) ...
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FBI Recruiting New Wave of Cyber Agents
The FBI is actively trying to hire a new wave of Special Agents with specialized cyber skills to help it "protect the United States against cyber-based attacks and high-technology crimes." In a recent FBI job posting for "Special Agent (Cyber)," the FBI emphasized that the position is for applicants ...