SEC Charges Executives for Defrauding Investors in Financial Fraud Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two former executives of ContinuityX Solutions Inc. with fabricating nearly all of the company’s revenue and enriching themselves in the process. Metamora, Illinois-based ContinuityX was a publicly traded company that claimed to sell Internet services to businesses. The company is now in bankruptcy and its former CEO was criminally charged last year with six counts of wire fraud for conduct related to the SEC’s allegations. The SEC’s complaint charges ContinuityX’s former CEO David P. Godwin and former chief financial officer Anthony G. Roth with engineering a scheme to inflate the company’s revenues. ContinuityX…
Read MoreFee Rate Advisory #2 for Fiscal Year 2016
When fiscal year 2016 starts on October 1, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission does not expect to have received a regular appropriation for FY 2016. Accordingly, the fees paid under Section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act will remain at their current rate until 60 days after the enactment of a regular appropriation for the SEC. The SEC is required to publish a revised fee rate 30 days after enactment of the new fiscal year appropriation and the new rate takes effect 60 days after the appropriation is enacted. Until then, the Section 31 fee rate will remain at…
Read MoreLatour Trading Charged With Market Structure Rule Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Latour Trading LLC with violating SEC rules designed to ensure safe and efficient markets. Latour, a high-frequency proprietary trading firm, agreed to a settlement in which it will pay a $5 million civil penalty and more than $3 million of disgorgement of gross trading profits, rebates paid to it by exchanges, and prejudgment interest. An SEC investigation found that Latour violated the SEC rules – the Market Access Rule and Regulation National Market System – over a nearly four-year period in which Latour sent millions of non-compliant orders to U.S. exchanges. According to…
Read MoreSEC Sanctions 22 Underwriting Firms for Fraudulent Municipal Bond Offerings
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced enforcement actions against 22 municipal underwriting firms for violations in municipal bond offerings. The actions are the second round of filings against underwriters under the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative, a voluntary self-reporting program targeting material misstatements and omissions in municipal bond offering documents. In today’s actions, the SEC found that between 2010 and 2014, the 22 underwriting firms violated federal securities laws by selling municipal bonds using offering documents that contained materially false statements or omissions about the bond issuers’ compliance with continuing disclosure obligations. The SEC also found that the…
Read MoreSEC Names William Royer to Lead Exam Program in Atlanta Office
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that William Royer has been named the new head of the examination program in the Atlanta Regional Office. In his role as Associate Director of the examination program in the Atlanta office, Mr. Royer will oversee a staff of approximately 40 examiners, accountants, and attorneys responsible for examining broker-dealers, investment advisers, investment companies, transfer agents, and other SEC registrants. Mr. Royer has served as the Acting Associate Director of the Atlanta office’s exam program since June. “Bill brings a great mix of experience in both the private and public sectors, particularly with regard…
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