SEC Files Fraud Charges in Bitcoin and Office Space Investment Schemes
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed fraud charges against the clandestine founder of a purported Bitcoin platform and a chain of co-working spaces located in former bars and restaurants, alleging that he bilked investors in both companies while hiding his connection given his checkered past with regulators in the U.K. The SEC alleges that Renwick Haddow, a U.K. citizen living in New York, created a broker-dealer and did not register the firm with the SEC as required under the federal securities laws. Haddow allegedly used sales representatives to cold call potential investors and sell securities in Bitcoin Store Inc.…
Read MoreSEC Charges Information Technology Company and Former Executives With Accounting Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Chicago-area information technology company Quadrant 4 System Corp. (QFOR) and two former top executives in an accounting fraud scheme that misled investors and allowed the former executives to siphon millions from the firm for their personal benefit. The SEC’s complaint, filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that former chief executive officer Nandu Thondavadi and former chief financial officer Dhru Desai stole more than $4 million from Schaumburg, Illinois-based QFOR over a nearly five-year period. The former executives also are alleged to have caused QFOR to…
Read MoreSEC’s Division of Corporation Finance Expands Popular JOBS Act Benefit to All Companies
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that the Division of Corporation Finance will permit all companies to submit draft registration statements relating to initial public offerings for review on a non-public basis. This process will be available for IPOs as well as most offerings made in the first year after a company has entered the public reporting system. It will take effect on July 10, 2017. "This is an important step in our efforts to foster capital formation, provide investment opportunities, and protect investors," said Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, Bill Hinman. "This process makes it easier for more companies…
Read MoreSEC Charges Oil and Gas Company and Top Finance Executives with Accounting Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Canadian-based oil and gas company and three of its former top finance executives for their roles in an extensive, multi-year accounting fraud. The SEC's complaint alleges that Penn West Petroleum Ltd., which has since been renamed Obsidian Energy Ltd., fraudulently moved hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses from operating expense accounts to capital expenditure accounts. This alleged fraudulent movement caused Penn West to artificially reduce its operating costs by as much as 20 percent in certain periods, which falsely improved reported metrics for oil extraction efficiency and profitability. Penn West was one of…
Read MoreAdditional Charges Announced in Case Involving Pre-Released ADRs
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced additional charges in an enforcement investigation involving the improper handling of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) by a Wall Street firm’s securities lending desk. The SEC’s order finds supervisory failures by Anthony Portelli, a former managing director and head of operations at broker-dealer ITG Inc. Portelli supervised ITG’s securities lending operations and was responsible for the firm’s compliance with “pre-release agreements” for ADR transactions. ADRs are U.S. securities that represent foreign shares of a foreign company. Before obtaining a “pre-released ADR” to lend to a customer, brokers like ITG must own, or determine that…
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