Credit Suisse Agrees to Pay $196 Million and Admits Wrongdoing in Providing Unregistered Services to U.S. Clients
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group AG for violating the federal securities laws by providing cross-border brokerage and investment advisory services to U.S. clients without first registering with the SEC. Credit Suisse agreed to pay $196 million and admit wrongdoing to settle the SEC’s charges. According to the SEC’s order instituting settled administrative proceedings, Credit Suisse provided cross-border securities services to thousands of U.S. clients and collected fees totaling approximately $82 million without adhering to the registration provisions of the federal securities laws. Credit Suisse relationship managers traveled to the U.S. to solicit…
Read MoreDivision of Trading And Markets Acting Director John Ramsay to Leave SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that John Ramsay, acting director of the Division of Trading and Markets, will leave the agency next month after three and a half years of leadership and service. Mr. Ramsay, who was appointed deputy director of the division in September 2010 and has served as acting director since December 2012, plans to return to the private sector. The SEC separately today named Stephen Luparello as the division’s director. Mr. Ramsay has led numerous significant rulemaking initiatives, including the adoption of the Volcker Rule and rules to implement the derivatives reform provisions of the…
Read MoreStephen Luparello Named as Director of SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has named Stephen Luparello as director of its Division of Trading and Markets. Mr. Luparello comes to the SEC from the law firm of WilmerHale, where he has been a partner in its Washington, D.C. office, specializing in broker-dealer compliance and regulation, securities litigation, and enforcement. Mr. Luparello joined WilmerHale after a 16-year career at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and its predecessor, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), where he most recently served as Vice Chairman of FINRA. “The agency will greatly benefit from Steve’s knowledge, leadership and…
Read MoreSEC Charges Three California Residents Behind Movie Investment Scam
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three California residents with defrauding investors in a purported multi-million dollar movie project that would supposedly star well-known actors and generate exorbitant investment returns. The SEC alleges that Los Angeles-based attorney Samuel Braslau was the architect of the fraudulent scheme that raised money through a boiler room operation spearheaded by Rand Chortkoff of Encino, Calif. High-pressure salespeople including Stuart Rawitt persuaded more than 60 investors nationwide to invest a total of $1.8 million in the movie first titled Marcel and later changed to The Smuggler. Investors were falsely told that actors ranging from…
Read MoreSEC Announces Initiative Directed at Never-Before Examined Registered Investment Advisers
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) is launching an initiative directed at investment advisers that have never been examined, focusing on those that have been registered with the SEC for three or more years. OCIE previously announced that examining these advisers is a priority in 2014. As part of the initiative, OCIE will conduct examinations of a significant percentage of advisers that have not been examined since they registered with the SEC. These examinations will concentrate on the advisers’ compliance programs, filings and disclosure, marketing, portfolio management, and safekeeping of…
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