SEC Charges Unregistered Broker in Tampa Area With Stealing From Investors in Fraudulent Day Trading Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged an unregistered broker living outside Tampa, Fla., with stealing investor funds as part of a fraudulent day trading scheme. The SEC alleges that Albert J. Scipione and his business partner solicited investors to establish accounts at their company called Traders Café for the purposes of day trading, which entails the rapid buying and selling of stocks throughout the day in hope that the stock values continue climbing or falling for the seconds to minutes they own them so they can lock in quick profits. Scipione touted Traders Café’s software trading platform and made…
Read MoreSEC Staff Releases Accounting Bulletin to Update Guidance on Pushdown Accounting
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Chief Accountant and Division of Corporation Finance today released a Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) to rescind portions of the interpretive guidance included in its SAB Series for what’s known as pushdown accounting. In order to reflect private sector developments in U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 115 rescinds SAB Topic 5.J. entitled New Basis of Accounting Required in Certain Circumstances. The new bulletin brings existing guidance into conformity with Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-17 – Business Combinations (Topic 805): Pushdown Accounting, a consensus of the FASB Emerging…
Read MoreSEC Sanctions Two Former Defense Contractor Employees for FCPA Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission today sanctioned two former employees in the Dubai office of a U.S.-based defense contractor for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by taking government officials in Saudi Arabia on a “world tour” to help secure business for the company. The two employees later falsified records in an attempt to hide their misconduct. Stephen Timms and Yasser Ramahi, who worked in sales at FLIR Systems Inc., agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and pay financial penalties. The SEC’s investigation is continuing. “This case shows we will pursue employees of public companies who think it is…
Read MoreSEC Charges Three Penny Stock Promoters Behind Pump-and-Dump Schemes
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three penny stock promoters with conducting pump-and-dump schemes involving stocks they were touting in their supposedly independent newsletters. The SEC alleges that Anthony Thompson, Jay Fung, and Eric Van Nguyen worked in coordinated fashion to gain control of a large portion of shares in the stock of microcap companies and then hyped those stocks in newsletters they distributed to prospective investors. After creating demand for the stock and increasing the value, they sold their holdings at the higher prices and earned significant profits. Once they stopped their promotional efforts, the demand for the…
Read MoreSEC Charges San Francisco-Based Penny Stock Company CEO for Defrauding Investors in Pump-and-Dump Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a San Francisco-based penny stock company CEO with defrauding investors by issuing false and misleading press releases portraying his purported marketing and infomercial company as a successful venture in order to drive the stock price up while he covertly sold millions of shares into the public market for more than $300,000 in illicit profits. According to the SEC’s complaint filed against Joseph A. Noel in federal district court in San Francisco, the deceptive press releases about his company YesDTC Holdings touted exclusive distribution rights, licensing agreements, and certain products purportedly certified by the…
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