SEC Charges Manhattan-Based Private Equity Manager With Stealing $9 Million in Investor Funds
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Manhattan-based private equity manager and his firm with stealing $9 million from investors in their private equity fund. The SEC has obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of Lawrence E. Penn III and his firm Camelot Acquisitions Secondary Opportunities Management as well as another individual and three entities involved in the theft of investor funds. The SEC alleges that Penn and his longtime acquaintance Altura S. Ewers concocted a sham due diligence arrangement where Penn used fund assets to pay fake fees to a front company controlled by Ewers. …
Read MoreSEC Charges N.Y.-Based Money Manager and Firm for Misleading Advertisements
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a New York-based money manager and his firm with making false claims through Twitter, newsletters, and other communications about the success of their investment advice and a mutual fund they manage. An SEC order against Mark A. Grimaldi and Navigator Money Management (NMM) finds that they selectively touted the past performance of the Sector Rotation Fund (NAVFX) and specific securities recommendations they made to clients. They cherry-picked highlights but ignored less favorable recommendations and other data that would have made the facts complete. Grimaldi and NMM agreed to settle the SEC’s charges. “The…
Read MoreScottrade Agrees to Pay $2.5 Million and Admits Providing Flawed “Blue Sheet” Trading Data
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Scottrade with failing to provide the agency with complete and accurate information about trades done by the firm and its customers, which is commonly called “blue sheet” data. Scottrade, which is headquartered in St. Louis, agreed to settle the charges by paying a $2.5 million penalty and admitting it violated the recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws. According to the SEC’s order instituting settled administrative proceedings, broker-dealers like Scottrade are required upon request to electronically provide the SEC with blue sheet data so the agency can use it to identify and analyze…
Read MoreSEC Charges Chicago-Based Accountant With Insider Trading in Wife’s Account
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against the former director of internal audit at a Chicago-based health care information technology company for insider trading ahead of the release of its financial results and making more than a quarter-million dollars in illicit profits. The SEC alleges that certified public accountant Steven M. Dombrowski confidentially learned through his job at Allscripts Healthcare Solutions that first quarter 2012 financial results were much worse than expected and the company would miss its earnings target. Despite a company-imposed blackout period on trading its securities, Dombrowski secretly used his wife’s account to trade Allscripts…
Read MoreBarbara Lorenzen Named to Senior Position in National Exam Program
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Barbara S. Lorenzen has been promoted to a senior position in the agency’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), which conducts the national examination program. Ms. Lorenzen has been named the national associate director for OCIE’s Clearance and Settlement Program, which is responsible for examining clearing agencies and coordinating with regional offices to oversee approximately 450 transfer agents in the U.S. Since arriving at the SEC in 2009, Ms. Lorenzen has worked in the Chicago Regional Office and coordinated the oversight of broker-dealer and transfer agent examinations in a nine-state Midwest…
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