Theranos, CEO Holmes, and Former President Balwani Charged With Massive Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Silicon Valley-based private company Theranos Inc., its founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes, and its former President Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani with raising more than $700 million from investors through an…

Former Equifax Executive Charged With Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former chief information officer of a U.S. business unit of Equifax with insider trading in advance of the company’s September 2017 announcement about a massive data breach that exposed the social …

Foreign Affiliates of KPMG, Deloitte, BDO Charged in Improper Audits

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged foreign affiliates of KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, and BDO for their involvement in audit work that circumvented the full oversight of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

The firms ag…

Foreign Affiliates of KPMG, Deloitte, BDO Charged in Improper Audits

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged foreign affiliates of KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, and BDO for their involvement in audit work that circumvented the full oversight of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

The firms ag…

SEC Charges Penny Stock “Mailman” With Scalping Investors In Gold Mining Stocks

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a penny stock promoter based in Florida with defrauding investors in a pair of gold mining stocks by secretly amassing shares before touting the companies publicly.  He allegedly sold the bulk of his s…

SEC Foils Penny Stock Executive’s Plan to Pump Stock and Exploit Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission today barred the president of a penny stock company from ever again serving as a public company officer or director after he was caught making false and misleading statements about the company to investors in an e…

Investment Adviser Settles Charges for Cheating Clients in Fraudulent Cherry-Picking Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against an Austin, Texas-based investment adviser for defrauding his clients through a “cherry-picking” scheme.  The adviser, Robert Mark Magee, who is the principal, sole owner, an…

Voya Advisers Agree to Repay Clients and Settle Charges That They Failed to Disclose Securities Lending Conflict

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two investment adviser subsidiaries of Voya Holdings Inc. with failing to disclose conflicts of interest and making misleading disclosures in connection with their practice of recalling securities on…

SEC Obtains Partial Asset Freeze of Proceeds in Alleged Fraudulent Touting Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges in a scheme to inflate the share price of an Israeli medical marijuana company’s common stock.  The court today entered a partial asset freeze of the proceeds of the alleged fraud.

The SEC…

SEC Charges Company and Executives in Oil-and-Gas Offering Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Dallas-based oil-and-gas company and two of its executives with defrauding investors out of at least $950,000 through a string of fraudulent oil-and-gas securities offerings.

The SEC’s complaint, wh…

Merrill Lynch Charged With Gatekeeping Failures in the Unregistered Sales of Securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. for its failure to perform required gatekeeping functions in the unregistered sales of securities on behalf of a China-based issue…

NYSE to Pay $14 Million Penalty for Multiple Violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it charged the New York Stock Exchange and two affiliated exchanges with regulatory failures in connection with multiple episodes, including several disruptive market events.  The charges aros…