Sharon Binger, Director of Philadelphia Regional Office, to Leave SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Sharon B. Binger, Director of the Philadelphia Regional Office, will leave the agency at the end of the year.  Following her departure, G. Jeffrey Boujoukos, the Philadelphia office’s Associate Regional Director for Enforcement, will serve as Regional Director.

Ms. Binger has headed the Philadelphia office since February 2014, overseeing a staff of more than 150 attorneys, accountants, and other professionals responsible for conducting investigations, litigation, and examinations in a region covering Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

“Sharon exemplifies the high standards of leadership we set at the agency – tough but fair enforcement, inspiring leadershi... Read More

SEC Charges Operators of Fake Day-Trading Firm With Defrauding Inexperienced Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two men behind a phony day-trading firm with pocketing more than $1.4 million in deposits from hundreds of defrauded investors worldwide.

The SEC alleges that Naris Chamroonrat of Bangkok, Thailand, recruited Adam L. Plumer of Las Vegas to help him lure investors to day-trade through an unregistered brokerage firm called Nonko Trading with promises of generous leverage, low trading commissions, and low minimum deposit requirements.  According to the SEC’s complaint, rather than using a live securities trading platform, Nonko Trading provided certain investors with training accounts that merely simulated the placement and execution of trade orders.  So when these investors sent funds to Nonko Trading and proceeded to place t... Read More

SEC Awards Nearly $1 Million to Whistleblower

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of more than $900,000 to a whistleblower whose tip enabled the SEC to bring multiple enforcement actions against wrongdoers.

“With the issuance of this second award in less than one week, we hope to continue to encourage individuals to submit high-quality tips that we can leverage to enforce the law and protect investors, and they can receive significant financial rewards for their valuable contributions to a case,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.

More than $136 million has been awarded to 37 whistleblowers who voluntarily provided the SEC with original and useful information that led to a successful enforcement action.

By law, the SEC protects the confidentialit... Read More

Enforcement Director Andrew J. Ceresney to Leave SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Enforcement Director Andrew J. Ceresney will leave the agency by the end of the year. 

During his nearly four years as head of the agency’s largest division, Mr. Ceresney implemented approaches that strengthened the Division’s investigative and litigation practices and enhanced its effectiveness and impact. Under his leadership, the Enforcement Division brought significant cases across the entire spectrum of the securities industry, achieving record numbers of enforcement actions and monetary remedies.    

“Under Andrew’s strong leadership, the Enforcement Division took its already robust enforcement program to an even higher level, achieving unprecedented results, including a record number of enforcement act... Read More

Division of Corporation Finance Director Keith Higgins to Leave SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Keith F. Higgins, Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, plans to leave the SEC in early January.

Since joining the SEC in June 2013, Mr. Higgins led the Division’s implementation of significant rulemaking and other responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), and Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). He also oversaw the Division’s program to review the securities filings of thousands of issuers each year to facilitate capital formation and ensure that investors receive full and fair disclosure about the public companies in which they invest, and guided the Division’s efforts to provide interpret... Read More

Firm Settles Charges for Selling Unregistered Swaps Involving Pre-IPO Companies

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a San Francisco-based firm agreed to settle charges that it violated federal securities laws by failing to register security-based swaps that were offered and sold online to shareholders in pre-IPO companies.

The SEC instituted an order finding that Equidate Inc. sought to provide liquidity for employees of private, growth-stage companies in the Silicon Valley and others holding restricted shares of their stock, and its platform essentially matched these shareholders with investors seeking to invest in the potential economic return on those shares.  Equidate conducted transactions through contracts that its subsidiary entered into with the shareholders and investors, and payment provisions were triggered by such even... Read More

IT Specialist Settles Charges of Insider Trading on Hacked Nonpublic Information

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against a San Francisco-based information technology specialist who allegedly hacked senior executives at online travel company Expedia and illegally traded on company secrets.

The SEC alleges that Jonathan Ly, who worked in Expedia’s corporate IT services department, illegally traded in advance of nine company news announcements from 2013 to 2016 and generated nearly $350,000 in profits. According to the SEC’s complaint, Ly exploited administrative access privileges designated for IT personnel to remotely hack into computers and email accounts of senior executives and review confidential documents and pre-earnings reports. Ly particularly targeted information prepared by Expedia’s head of investor... Read More

SEC Awards $3.5 Million To Whistleblower

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a whistleblower has been awarded approximately $3.5 million for coming forward with information that led to an SEC enforcement action.

“Whistleblowers do a tremendous service to the investing public and we will continue to reward those who come forward with valuable tips that help us bring successful cases against those who violate the securities laws,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.

The SEC’s whistleblower program has now awarded approximately $135 million to 36 whistleblowers since issuing its first award in 2012. SEC enforcement actions from whistleblower tips have resulted in more than $874 million in financial remedies.

By law, the SEC protects the confidential... Read More

Chief Economist and Division of Economic and Risk Analysis Director Mark Flannery to Leave SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Chief Economist and Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) Director Mark J. Flannery will leave the agency by the end of the month. He will return to his position as a finance professor at the University of Florida’s Graduate School of Business Administration.

Dr. Flannery has held the positions of Chief Economist and DERA Director since September 2014 and has led a broad range of activities, including providing economic analysis to support SEC rulemaking and developing sophisticated analytical tools to assist in risk assessment and enforcement activities.  He has also worked to secure a defining role for the SEC in the international regulatory arena by representing the agency on the Financial Stability Board’... Read More

United Settles Charges in Case of Flight Route to Benefit Public Official

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that the parent company of United Airlines has agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle charges in a case where shareholders wound up footing the bill so a public official could get more convenient flights.

According to the SEC’s order instituted today, United reinstated a nonstop flight between Newark, N.J., and Columbia, S.C., at the behest of David Samson, the then-chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who sought a more direct route to his home in South Carolina.  The route previously experienced poor financial performance and was canceled by Continental Airlines prior to its merger with United, and a preliminary financial analysis conducted after Samson began privately advocating for the route’s return... Read More

PIMCO Settles Charges of Misleading Investors About ETF Performance

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that investment management firm Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) agreed to retain an independent compliance consultant and pay nearly $20 million to settle charges that it misled investors about the performance of one its first actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and failed to accurately value certain fund securities.

According to the SEC’s order issued today, PIMCO’s Total Return ETF attracted significant investor attention as it outperformed even its flagship mutual fund in the four months following its launch in February 2012.  The initial performance was attributable to buying smaller-sized bonds known as “odd lots” as part of a strategy to help bolster performance out of the gate.  But in month... Read More

SEC Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies to Hold Conference Call Meeting on December 7

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that its Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies will hold a public meeting by telephone conference on December 7.

The advisory committee plans to consider recommendations regarding corporate board diversity and continue its discussions regarding outreach to smaller businesses about capital raising.  These topics were initially discussed at the committee’s October 5 meeting. 

The December 7 meeting will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET and live audio will be available on the SEC’s website.

The Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies provides a formal mechanism for the Commission to receive advice and recommendations on privately held small businesses and public... Read More