SEC Charges Group of Amateur Golfers in Insider Trading Ring
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a group of friends, most of them golfing buddies, who made more than $554,000 of illegal profits from trading on inside information about Massachusetts-based American Superconductor Corporation. In a complaint filed in federal court in Boston, the SEC alleges that Eric McPhail repeatedly provided non-public information about American Superconductor to six others, most fellow competitive amateur golfers. McPhail’s source was an American Superconductor executive who belonged to the same country club as McPhail and was a close friend. According to the complaint, from July 2009 through April 2011, the executive told McPhail about…
Read MoreSEC Charges California School District with Misleading Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a school district in California with misleading bond investors about its failure to provide contractually required financial information and notices. The case is the first to be resolved under a new SEC initiative to address materially inaccurate statements in municipal bond offering documents. The SEC found that in the course of a 2010 bond offering, Kings Canyon Joint Unified School District affirmed to investors that it had complied with its prior continuing disclosure obligations. The statement was inaccurate because between at least 2008 and 2010, the school district had failed to submit some…
Read MoreSEC Names Thomas J. Krysa as Associate Regional Director in Denver Office
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has named Thomas J. Krysa as the associate regional director for enforcement in its Denver office, where he will oversee enforcement efforts in seven western states. Mr. Krysa started in the Denver office in 2003 as a staff attorney, became a trial counsel the following year, and has supervised the office’s trial unit since 2010. He has litigated matters involving insider trading, financial fraud, offering fraud, broker-dealer and investment adviser misconduct, market timing, market manipulation, and auditor negligence. Among the cases he has prosecuted was a jury trial against two former…
Read MoreSEC Charges Five Traders with Short Selling Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged five traders for committing short selling violations while trading for themselves and Worldwide Capital Inc., a Long Island, N.Y.-based proprietary firm that earlier this year paid the largest-ever monetary sanction for Rule 105 violations. Worldwide Capital and its owner Jeffrey W. Lynn agreed to pay $7.2 million to settle SEC charges in March for violating Rule 105, which prohibits the short sale of an equity security during a restricted period – generally five business days before a public offering – and the subsequent purchase of that same security through the offering. The SEC…
Read MoreJames McNamara Named as Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer in the Office of Human Resources
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that James McNamara has been selected as the deputy chief human capital officer in its Office of Human Resources. Mr. McNamara, currently the managing executive for the Division of Trading and Markets, will begin his new position on July 14. In his new role, he will help to manage programs and policies in areas such as leadership and employee development, recruitment and retention, performance management, compensation and benefits, and labor relations. “The SEC promotes a results-oriented workforce committed to the highest standards of expertise and excellence,” said SEC Office of Human Resources’ Chief…
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