On March 1, 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) demonstrated continued interest in investigating insider trading by company executives who possess material non-public information when they unsealed an indictment and filed a civil complaint, respectively, in the Central District of California. Though a Rule 10b5-1 plan—an investment device … Continue Reading
This week, in a 3-2 vote, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) approved significant changes to the rules governing its whistleblower program. The program, established by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2011, incentivizes those with information about possible securities law violations to report to the SEC. If the tipster provides “high-quality original … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have taken legal actions to combat fraud arising out of the COVID-19 health emergency. DOJ Restraining Order On March 23, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Western Division of Texas issued a temporary restraining order to halt a predatory wire fraud scheme … Continue Reading
With governments around the world injecting trillions of dollars into the global economy to prevent a financial catastrophe, the first priority for companies is to figure out how to take advantage of the various stimulus packages to save themselves. This is not the time to take the money and run, however.… Continue Reading
While the world and markets are reeling, dealing with and adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Securities & Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Enforcement wants companies and individuals to know that it’s business as usual at the SEC. This week, Stephanie Avakian and Steven Peikin, Co-Directors of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, issued a statement regarding … Continue Reading
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently penalized a public company for violating U.S. economic sanctions. The violation cited the “books and records” and “internal controls” provisions of Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). With this unprecedented action, the SEC has put companies on notice that the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit held that the anti-retaliation provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act do not protect whistleblowers who make internal complaints about potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The court’s ruling limits the remedies available to employees who claim to have suffered adverse employment actions in retaliation for raising FCPA concerns.… Continue Reading
Last week, the United States Supreme Court settled a circuit split regarding the constitutionality of the appointment of Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”) by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”). In Lucia v. SEC, the Court held that the Commission’s five ALJs are “officers” subject to the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which requires officers … Continue Reading
Having looked comparatively at the approaches of certain authorities around the world to addressing and mitigating the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, our attentions now turn to the emerging position of regulators in the U.S., which is often considered the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency market. In the first two parts of this three-part post, we examined “cryptocompliance” … Continue Reading
In late April, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hit Yahoo with a $35 million dollar fine for failing to properly assess and disclose a 2014 data breach that affected more than 500 million user accounts. The case marks the first time the SEC has charged a public company with cybersecurity-related disclosure violations and … Continue Reading
