SEC Charges Offshore Business and Two Individuals Behind Scheme to Conceal Ownership of Microcap Stocks
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two individuals managing an offshore business intended to help clients evade U.S. securities laws with concealing the ownership of certain microcap stocks as part of a larger money laundering scheme alleged by criminal authorities. Under the federal securities laws, beneficial owners of more than 5 percent of certain stocks are required to report their acquisition and ownership of those stocks to the SEC and the investing public. The SEC alleges that Belize residents Robert Bandfield and Andrew Godfrey through a company called IPC Corporate Services have helped clients who own significant amounts of…
Read MoreSEC Names Victor Valdez As Enforcement Division’s Chief Operating Officer
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Victor J. Valdez has been named Chief Operating Officer and Managing Executive of the agency’s Enforcement Division, where he will oversee project management, information technology, human capital strategy, and risk management among other functions. Mr. Valdez comes to the SEC from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), where he is the Deputy Director of Strategic Planning and Corporate Programs for FDIC’s Corporate University. He previously served as the Deputy Director of Strategic Planning and Resource Management in FDIC’s Division of Risk Management Supervision. He will begin his new post on September 22.…
Read MoreSEC Charges Minneapolis-Based Hedge Fund Manager With Bilking Investors and Portfolio Pumping
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Minneapolis-based hedge fund manager, his investment advisory firm, and an accomplice with bilking investors in two hedge funds out of more than $1 million under the guise of research expenses and fees. The SEC alleges that as the management fees earned by Archer Advisors LLC were shrinking due to the funds’ worsening performance, the firm’s owner Steven R. Markusen and an employee Jay C. Cope implemented a scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of investors in the funds. Markusen routinely caused the funds to reimburse Archer for fake research expenses, and…
Read MoreTracey L. McNeil Named as SEC’s First Ombudsman
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Tracey L. McNeil has been selected as the first ombudsman for the agency. Ms. McNeil will begin her new post on September 22. She currently is a senior counsel in the SEC’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI), an office created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. In this position, she has advised the director of OMWI in establishing the office and has worked to ensure the fair inclusion and utilization of minorities, women, and minority-owned and women-owned businesses in all business and activities of the agency. Prior to joining OMWI in…
Read MoreSEC Names Brent J. Fields to Lead Office of the Secretary
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Brent J. Fields has been appointed as the agency’s Secretary, who is responsible for overseeing the administrative aspects of Commission meetings, rulemakings, and procedures. Mr. Fields is an 18-year SEC veteran who has worked primarily in its Division of Investment Management. Over the last nine years, he has served as an Assistant Director leading an office that reviews the disclosures of investment companies and as the Assistant Director leading a disclosure rulemaking office. In those capacities he was instrumental in the implementation of the SEC’s mutual fund disclosure reform initiative, which included…
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