All Regulatory Enforcement articles – Page 154
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Blog
SEC Initiated Record Enforcement Actions in 2015
The number of enforcement actions initiated by the SEC has steadily increased over the past six fiscal years, reaching a record high in 2015, according to a recent report drawing on data from the Securities Enforcement Empirical Database (SEED) that tracks and records information on SEC enforcement actions filed against ...
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Bad News for Banks: More Regulatory Risk Is Coming, With a Political Twist
Banks can look forward to a 2016 with additional regulatory risk, with rules layered upon rules, heightened capital requirements, and cyber-security casting an ever-darkening shadow. Even political risk is a reason for concern; With a presidential race underway, calls for breaking up big banks, and reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act, are ...
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Systemic Cases Dominate EEOC Enforcement
Image: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission achieved record enforcement results in 2015 and shows no signs of letting up this year. The good news is that employers now have a leg up in defending EEOC claims where they had little to no leverage before. “The EEOC’s focus on systemic investigations ...
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New Report Shows SEC Bringing More, Larger APs Against Public Companies
A new report offers some interesting angles on the SEC's enforcement actions against public companies since 2010. Among other things, the report shows that since FY 2010, SEC enforcement has undergone a "dramatic shift" in its choice of venue for bringing cases against public company defendants, with a significant move ...
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SEC Settles for Two-Year Bar in Steve Cohen 'Failure to Supervise' Case
The SEC announced today that it has settled its high-profile lawsuit against hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen, founder of SAC Capital. Under the Order resolving the case, Cohen will be prohibited from supervising funds that manage outside money until 2018.
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Dental Practice Software Provider to Pay FTC $250K for Misleading Customers About Encryption
Henry Schein Practice Solutions, a provider of office management software for dental practices, this week agreed to pay $250,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it falsely advertised the level of encryption it provided to protect patient data.
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Interview With Former KPMG Partner Scott London on Why He Broke Bad
Today, NPR's Planet Money posted an interesting interview with former KPMG Partner Scott London about his insider trading ordeal, the famous "envelope of cash" photo, and why London ever agreed to become involved in the insider trading scheme in the first place.
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SEC: JPMorgan Misled Customers on Broker Pay
Image: JPMorgan’s brokerage business has agreed to pay $4 million to the SEC to settle charges that it falsely stated on its private banking website and in marketing materials that advisers are compensated based on client performance, rather than commission. According to SEC Enforcement Division Director Andrew Ceresney, “JPMS ...
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Are VW Execs Breathing Easier Now?
Image: Senior executives at Volkswagen took a very deep sigh of relief when the Justice Department announced a civil suit (?a suit many say is a cakewalk as opposed to the tougher policy set by the Yates memo) against the company for damages from its emissions fraud scandal. In addition, ...
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New Sentencing Guidelines Could Alter Fraud Prosecutions
Image: Several important changes to the federal Sentencing Guidelines could drastically reduce the sentences imposed for violations of fraud and antitrust laws, even as the Justice Department heightens its focus on prosecuting individuals in corporate misconduct cases. “Some of the changes in the Sentencing Guidelines are a step in the ...
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Year in Review: Regulatory Enforcement in Europe
Image: For compliance officers in Europe, 2015 has been a big year. Aside from focusing on reporting wrongdoing and promoting a speak-up culture, watchdogs have been keeping compliance practitioners busy with a barrage of regulations that show no sign of easing. As compliance officers wonder to what degree the past ...
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U.S. Sues Volkswagen Over Clean Air Act Violations
Image: The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, today filed a civil complaint against Volkswagen over allegations that Volkswagen violated the Clean Air Act by installing illegal defeat devices that impaired emission control systems in nearly 600,000 diesel engine vehicles. In a statement, Barbara McQuade, U.S. ...
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LifeLock to Pay $100 Million in FTC Case
LifeLock last month agreed to pay $100 million to settle Federal Trade Commission contempt charges that it violated the terms of a 2010 federal court order requiring the company to secure consumers’ personal information and prohibiting the company from deceptive advertising. The settlement represents the largest monetary award obtained by ...
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Former Rep. Michael Oxley, Co-Author of "SOX," Dies at Age 71
Image: Former U.S. Rep. Michael G. Oxley, co-author of the landmark Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), died Jan. 1, 2016, at age 71. SOX was enacted July 30, 2002, in response to a series of massive accounting scandals involving public companies such as Enron and Worldcom. In March 2012, Oxley ...
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SEC.gov's Top 10 News Stories, Search Terms in 2015
As it similarly did at the end of 2014, the SEC announced "Top 10" lists this week for the most popular search terms and news releases on the SEC website (SEC.gov) in 2015.
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Second Circuit Denies Rajat Gupta's Last Gasp Effort to Vacate Conviction
His imminent release from prison has not stopped former McKinsey & Company CEO and Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta from aggressively seeking to get his conviction vacated under the Second Circuit's landmark Newman decision. This week, the Second Circuit rejected Gupta's last gasp appeal in the case.
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New European Regulations Mean More Competition Between ‘Big Four’
New European regulations requiring companies to change auditors every 20 years have led to intense competition between the Big Four audit firms. Barclays, for instance has cut a 120-year relationship with PwC, and KPMG has been picked up as auditor for the British bank. The audit firm rotation continued at ...
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Steven Cohen Preparing Latest Constitutional Challenge to SEC's APs
The next constitutional challenge to the SEC's administrative proceedings process may be the most high-profile one to date. Lawyers for Steven A. Cohen confirmed that the SAC Capital founder intends to mount such a challenge if ongoing settlement talks are not successful.
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Revised Ofcom Guidelines Could Mean Higher Penalties
Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the U.K. communications industry, this month published updated penalty guidelines, which were last revised in 2011. The new guidelines give Ofcom greater flexibility to impose higher penalties for non-compliance. “Companies should therefore take immediate steps to assess and reduce such potential exposure ...
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SEC Settles Insider Case Based on Credit Card Sales Data
The SEC announced a partial settlement today in an unusual insider trading case that it brought earlier this year against Bonan Huang and Nan Huang -- two former employees in the fraud department at Capital One Financial Corp. The SEC alleges that the men made over $2.8 million in illegal ...