SEC Charges Oregon-Based Investment Group and Executives With Defrauding Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged an Oregon-based investment group and three top executives with hiding the rapidly deteriorating financial condition of its enterprise while raising more than $350 million from investors. Aequitas Management LLC and four affiliates allegedly defrauded more than 1,500 investors nationwide into believing they were making health care, education, and transportation-related investments when their money was really being used in a last-ditch effort to save the firm. Some money from new investors was allegedly used to pay earlier investors The SEC’s complaint, filed today in federal district court in Oregon, alleges that CEO Robert J.…
Read MoreSEC Charges Company and Executives for Faulty Evaluations of Internal Controls
The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled charges against Texas-based oil company Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation and several individuals, including a company consultant, for deficient evaluation of the company’s internal controls over financial reporting, and failures to maintain internal control over financial reporting between Dec. 31, 2011 and Sept. 30, 2013. Internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) refers to a company’s process for providing reasonable assurance to the public regarding the reliability of its financial reporting. SEC rules require company management to evaluate and annually report on the effectiveness of ICFR, including disclosing any identified material weaknesses that creates a…
Read MoreAnthony Kelly Named Co-Chief of Asset Management Unit
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Anthony S. Kelly has been named Co-Chief of the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit, which focuses on misconduct by investment advisers, investment companies, and private funds. He joins Marshall Sprung as Co-Chief of the unit and succeeds Julie Riewe, who left the agency last month. Mr. Kelly has investigated or supervised enforcement cases that addressed a wide range of misconduct across the asset management industry. Mr. Kelly supervised the SEC’s first cases under its authority to bring anti-retaliation enforcement actions, which included charges against a hedge fund adviser, and arising from an…
Read MoreSEC to Hold National Compliance Outreach Seminar for Investment Companies and Investment Advisers
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the opening of registration for its compliance outreach program’s national seminar for investment companies and investment advisers. The event is intended to help Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) and other senior personnel at investment companies and investment advisory firms to enhance their compliance programs for the protection of investors. The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), Division of Investment Management, and the Asset Management Unit of the Division of Enforcement jointly sponsor the compliance outreach program. The national seminar will be held on April 19 at the SEC’s Washington, D.C., headquarters from…
Read MoreSEC: Tech Company Misled Investors About Key Product
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a developer of technologies for touchscreen devices has agreed to pay $750,000 to settle charges that it misled investors about the production status and sales agreements for a key product. Two former company executives face related charges in an SEC complaint filed today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The SEC entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the company’s former chairman of the board, who has agreed to cooperate and be barred from serving as an officer and director for five years. The SEC alleges that Uni-Pixel…
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