Lara Shalov Mehraban Named Associate Director for Enforcement in SEC’s New York Regional Office
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Lara Shalov Mehraban has been named Associate Regional Director for Enforcement in the agency’s New York Regional Office. Ms. Mehraban has been an Assistant Regional Director in the New York office since 2012. In her new role, she will help supervise a staff of approximately 185 attorneys, investigators, accountants, and paralegals in the New York office’s enforcement program. Ms. Mehraban fills the position previously held by Amelia Cottrell, who left the agency in July. “Lara has made outstanding contributions to the New York Regional Office and the enforcement division on a variety…
Read MoreSEC Charges Investment Adviser With Failing to Adopt Proper Cybersecurity Policies and Procedures Prior To Breach
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a St. Louis-based investment adviser has agreed to settle charges that it failed to establish the required cybersecurity policies and procedures in advance of a breach that compromised the personally identifiable information (PII) of approximately 100,000 individuals, including thousands of the firm’s clients. The federal securities laws require registered investment advisers to adopt written policies and procedures reasonably designed to protect customer records and information. An SEC investigation found that R.T. Jones Capital Equities Management violated this “safeguards rule” during a nearly four-year period when it failed to adopt any written…
Read MoreSEC Proposes Liquidity Management Rules For Mutual Funds And ETFs
The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to propose a comprehensive package of rule reforms designed to enhance effective liquidity risk management by open-end funds, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). “Promoting stronger liquidity risk management is essential to protecting the interests of the millions of Americans who invest in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds,” said SEC Chair Mary Jo White. “These significant reforms would require funds to better manage their liquidity risks, give them new tools to meet that requirement, and enhance the Commission’s oversight.” Under the proposed reforms, mutual funds and ETFs would be required to implement…
Read MoreSEC Charges Retailer for Improper Valuation and Inadequate Internal Accounting Controls
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Stein Mart Inc. for materially misstating its pre-tax income due to improper valuation of inventory subject to price discounts and for having inadequate internal accounting controls. An SEC investigation found that the Jacksonville, Florida-based retailer often offered its merchandise to customers at retail price reductions referred to as Perm POS markdowns and that merchandise subject to such a markdown never reverted back to its original retail price. Stein Mart reduced the value of inventory subject to these markdowns at the time the item was sold rather than immediately at the time the markdown…
Read MoreSEC Charges Two Men in Stock Manipulation Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two men behind a scheme that defrauded investors in YaFarm Technologies Inc., a company that purported to provide stem cell therapy. The SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Boston charged Frank Morelli III, of Florence, Colorado, and Louis Buonocore, of Woburn, Massachusetts, for their roles in the alleged scheme. In a parallel case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts today filed a criminal information against Buonocore. According to the SEC’s complaint, Morelli and Buonocore concealed their ownership of virtually all of YaFarm’s stock, secretly controlled its operations, and…
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