SEC Charges Oppenheimer With Securities Law Violations Related to Improper Penny Stock Sales
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Oppenheimer & Co. with violating federal securities laws while improperly selling penny stocks in unregistered offerings on behalf of customers. Oppenheimer agreed to admit wrongdoing and pay $10 million to settle the SEC’s charges. Oppenheimer will pay an additional $10 million to settle a parallel action by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). According to the SEC’s order instituting a settled administrative proceeding, Oppenheimer engaged in two courses of misconduct. The first involved aiding and abetting illegal activity by a customer and ignoring red flags that business was being conducted without…
Read MoreSEC Charges Former Executive at Tampa-Based Engineering Firm With FCPA Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former officer at a Tampa, Fla.-based engineering and construction firm with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by offering and authorizing bribes and employment to foreign officials to secure Qatari government contracts. The SEC also announced a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with The PBSJ Corporation that defers FCPA charges for a period of two years and requires the company to comply with certain undertakings. PBSJ must immediately pay $3.4 million in financial remedies as part of the agreement, which reflects the company’s significant cooperation with the SEC investigation. PBSJ is now…
Read MoreSEC Charges Investment Adviser and Manager in South Florida-Based Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges and an asset freeze against a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based investment advisory firm, its manager, and three related funds in a scheme that raised more than $17 million since November 2013. The SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida last week charged Elm Tree Investment Advisors LLC, its founder and manager, Frederic Elm, and Elm Tree Investment Fund LP, Elm Tree “e”Conomy Fund LP, and Elm Tree Motion Opportunity LP. According to the complaint, Elm, formerly known as Frederic Elmaleh, his unregistered investment advisory firm, and the…
Read MoreInvestment Management Director Norm Champ to Leave SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Norm Champ, Director of the Division of Investment Management, will leave the agency later this month after five years serving in senior leadership positions. Mr. Champ played a key role in the SEC’s completion of landmark reforms in 2014 to strengthen the $3 trillion money market fund industry. He also led numerous structural and policy changes at the agency and oversaw the Division of Investment Management during one of its busiest periods, receiving the Chair’s Award for Labor-Management Relations in both 2011 and 2014. Mr. Champ also received the Chair’s Award for…
Read MoreSEC Announces Charges Against Standard & Poor’s for Fraudulent Ratings Misconduct
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a series of federal securities law violations by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services involving fraudulent misconduct in its ratings of certain commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). S&P agreed to pay more than $58 million to settle the SEC’s charges, plus an additional $19 million to settle parallel cases announced today by the New York Attorney General’s office ($12 million) and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office ($7 million). “Investors rely on credit rating agencies like Standard & Poor’s to play it straight when rating complex securities like CMBS,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, Director of the…
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