Communicating Regulatory Compliance Matters With Your CEO
Michelle L. Jacko wrote a Legal Tip for Jacko Law Group titled Communicating Regulatory Compliance Matters With Your CEO for July, 2014.… Read More
Philadelphia-based private equity firm fined for Pay-to-Play
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has brought its first case against a private equity firm for pay-to-play violations involving political campaign contributions to the governor of Pennsylvania and the candidate for Mayor of Philadelphia. The SEC also found that…
Municipal Bond Market Fraud Uncovered in Harvey, IL
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has filed fraud charges in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the City of Harvey, Illinois and its comptroller, Joseph Letke (“Letke”). The City of Harvey has been accused…
Protecting Whistleblowers: The SEC’s First Anti-Retaliation Enforcement Case
A landmark case of whistleblower anti-retaliation enforcement has recently been settled between the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the advisory firm Paradigm Capital Management (“Paradigm”) and Candace King Weir (“Weir” the majority owner of paradigm) in the first case…
In the Spotlight: Private Equity Firms & the Presence Exam Initiative
The question “how are private equity firms doing?” was asked back in 2012 by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC’s”) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”), in response to the growth of this industry. In October 2012, OCIE launched…
Foreign Risk: How to Avoid Anti-Money Laundering Problems with the New Russian Financial Sanctions
The past two months have seen much in the way of political and civil strife in the Ukraine, as Russian forces moved into the Crimea and Eastern regions. After a series of economic sanctions against Russia were instituted by the…
False (Video) Promises: YouTube Videos at the Center of FL-Based Ponzi Scheme
An important and pervasive online tool has been used to lure investors to a new Ponzi scheme, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In a press release dated April 8, 2014, the SEC alleges that Joseph Signore of…
Manipulative Trading: Inside the Practice of “Layering”
The securities industry became privy once again to a form of manipulative trading – termed “layering” or “spoofing” – through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC’s”) recent charges against the Holmdel, N.J.-based firm Visionary Trading, LLC (“Visionary”). According to the…
SEC Charges Florida Firm with Perpetuating False Fee Discounts and Policy and Procedures Failures
A St. Petersburg, Florida-based financial services firm was recently charged with inappropriately-calculated fee discounts and inadequate policies and procedures (“P&P”). Charges were filed against Transamerica Financial Advisors (“Transamerica”) by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) at the beginning of April…
Law Firm Charged with Fraudulent Bond Offering to Generate Funds During Financial Crisis
The ripple effects of the 2008/2009 financial crisis still echoes throughout most US industries today. Fraudulent acts of certain “bad actors” – both individuals and firms in the financial industries during this time – are also still being discovered today….