SEC Names Marc Wyatt as Acting Director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Marc Wyatt will serve as Acting Director of the agency’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE). He succeeds Andrew Bowden, who announced that he will be leaving the SEC to rejoin the private sector at the end of April. Mr. Wyatt has served as the Deputy Director of OCIE since October 2014, where he has led the Technology Controls Program and served as a member of the office’s Operating and Executive Committees. He also is the national co-coordinator of OCIE’s Private Fund Specialized Working Group and recently participated in the creation…
Read MoreSEC Halts Microcap Scheme in South Florida
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges and an asset freeze against the operators of a South Florida-based microcap scheme, including three boiler room brokers caught trying to conceal from investors that they have been barred from the industry. The SEC alleges that investors were defrauded in cold calls placed to investors through a boiler room spearheaded by Dean A. Esposito of Boca Raton, Fla., Joseph DeVito of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Frederick Birks of Orlando, Fla. These brokers and their sales agents were hired by Joseph J. Azzata of Boca Raton, Fla., CEO of eCareer Holdings, Inc., to…
Read MoreSEC Charges Oregon-Based Defense Contractor With FCPA Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Oregon-based FLIR Systems Inc. with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by financing what an employee termed a “world tour” of personal travel for government officials in the Middle East who played key roles in decisions to purchase FLIR products. FLIR earned more than $7 million in profits from sales influenced by the improper travel and gifts. FLIR, which develops infrared technology for use in binoculars and other sensing products and systems, agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying more than $9.5 million and reporting its FCPA compliance efforts to the…
Read MoreGregg E. Berman, Associate Director in the Division of Trading and Markets, to Leave SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Gregg E. Berman, Associate Director of the Office of Analytics and Research in the Division of Trading and Markets, is leaving the agency later this month. The Office of Analytics and Research, established in 2012, conducts quantitative research and data analysis to inform the Commission’s policies on markets and market structure. Mr. Berman has headed the office since January 2013 and came to the Division of Trading and Markets in June 2010 as a senior advisor to the division director. He joined the SEC staff in October 2009 as a senior advisor…
Read MoreSEC Charges L.A.-Based Pacific West Capital Group With Fraud in Sale of Life Settlement Investments
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Los Angeles-based Pacific West Capital Group Inc. and its owner Andrew B. Calhoun IV with fraud in the sale of “life settlement” investments. Life settlements are securities structured around when life insurance policies “mature” after the insured individual dies and benefits are paid. Life settlement investors purchase an interest in a life insurance policy and in exchange receive a share of the death benefit. The SEC’s complaint alleges that since 2004, Pacific West and Calhoun, a Beverly Hills-based life insurance agent, have raised nearly $100 million from life settlement investors. Since at least…
Read More