Securities

  • December 03, 2024

    Customers Bancorp Hid AML Shortcomings, Investor Suit Says

    Bank holding company Customers Bancorp Inc. faces a shareholder suit in Pennsylvania federal court alleging it failed to disclose shortcomings in its anti-money laundering compliance, causing shares to decline when the Federal Reserve and state banking authorities brought enforcement actions tied to the lender's work with crypto firms.

  • December 03, 2024

    Coinbase Says It Won't Use Firms That Hire Crypto Enforcers

    Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase made clear that it won't work with law firms that employ former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys who led the charge on crypto enforcement suits, singling out Milbank LLP for its hiring of ex-SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal.

  • December 03, 2024

    Del. Justices Mostly Uphold Mindbody Merger Suit Ruling

    Delaware's Supreme Court has upheld a Court of Chancery ruling that the former CEO of Mindbody Inc. is liable for an extra $1 per share plus interest to stockholders of the fitness software company but reversed the lower court's finding that Vista Equity Partners Management LLC, which acquired Mindbody in 2019, aided and abetted the executive.

  • December 03, 2024

    Unit Of World's Largest Bank Avoids SEC Penalty In Cyber Case

    A broker-dealer subsidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will escape civil penalties in a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its books and records because of the firm's remediation and cooperation, the agency says.

  • December 03, 2024

    SEC Says Biopharma's Cooperation Helped It Avoid Penalty

    A Houston biopharmaceutical company accused of misleading investors about the regulatory status of two cancer drugs agreed to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's action against it on Tuesday without paying a dime, in recognition of what the SEC said was the company's self-reporting and cooperation with investigators.

  • December 03, 2024

    ZoomInfo Brass Face COVID Customer Loss Derivative Suit

    Leaders of software company ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. face new shareholder derivative action claims over the company's allegedly improper customer retention measures following its $33 million write-down in connection with the matter.

  • December 03, 2024

    Chancery Orders Revenue Trust For Healthcare Co. 'Poaching'

    A home health company formed through secret poaching by an allegedly disloyal former CEO, two officers and two private equities has been ordered to earmark much of its future revenue to a trust for the corporate victims, in a Delaware Court of Chancery ruling that described the subterfuge as "stunning."

  • December 03, 2024

    Judge Denies News Orgs. Bid To Unseal FTX Customer Names

    A Delaware federal judge on Tuesday said he wouldn't reverse an order allowing defunct crypto platform FTX Trading Ltd. to keep customer names out of public bankruptcy filings, rejecting an appeal from major news outlets to unseal the information and writing that sealing the information preserved FTX's assets and protected creditors from cybercrime.

  • December 03, 2024

    Attys For Sears Ex-CEO, Appraisal Camp Clash In Chancery

    A lawyer for Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores' former top fiduciary told a Delaware vice chancellor on Tuesday that case law does not support carving out stockholder proceeds from a fiduciary breach settlement in order to pay shareholders whose separate appraisal lawsuit was foiled by SHOS' bankruptcy.

  • December 03, 2024

    4 Mass. State Court Rulings You May Have Missed In Nov.

    An age discrimination case was undone by the fine print of an employment agreement, while an "utterly inadequate" document search led to a five-figure sanctions order, among other notable recent decisions in Massachusetts state court.

  • December 03, 2024

    Former FirstEnergy CEO Rips SEC's 'Belated' Suit Against Him

    Former FirstEnergy Corp. chief executive officer Charles Jones slammed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement action against him over his alleged part in the company's widely publicized bribery scandal relating to its nuclear program, calling the suit "belated" and arguing the agency failed to back up its claims.

  • December 03, 2024

    Fla.'s 'Mother Teresa' Gets 20 Years For Ponzi Scheme

    A Florida federal judge on Tuesday accused the U.S. attorney's office of "abdicating its responsibility" by agreeing to a maximum of 20 years in prison for Johanna Garcia, the former MJ Capital CEO known as "Mother Teresa" who pled guilty to running a $190 million Ponzi scheme.

  • December 03, 2024

    Robotics Co. Hit With Investor Suit Over Accounting Errors

    Investors in supply chain automation company Symbotic on Tuesday accused executives of hiding faulty accounting processes, prompting financial reporting errors that tanked the company's stock when the issues came to light.

  • December 03, 2024

    'Bitcoin Jesus' Calls $48M Tax Dodging Case Unconstitutional

    An early Bitcoin investor known as Bitcoin Jesus asked a California federal judge Tuesday to dismiss charges that he dodged approximately $48 million in taxes by filing false tax returns and concealing how much cryptocurrency he owned, arguing that the charges are unconstitutional.

  • December 03, 2024

    Judge Suspects Citigroup 401(k) Suit May Unnerve Fiduciaries

    Allowing discovery in a proposed class action over allegedly imprudent investments in Citigroup Inc.'s employee 401(k) plan may signal to fiduciaries that their decisions are subject to judicial second-guessing, a Hartford federal judge observed Tuesday amid oral argument on the company's motion to dismiss.

  • December 03, 2024

    Celsius Founder Cops To Fraud That Sunk $25B Crypto Lender

    Celsius Network founder Alex Mashinsky told a Manhattan federal judge Tuesday that he lied when he told the public that the fallen $25 billion crypto lender's tokens were a safe investment, pleading guilty to fraud charges ahead of a January criminal trial.

  • December 03, 2024

    Norton Rose Names US Corporate, M&A And Securities Head

    Norton Rose Fulbright announced Tuesday that it has tapped a New York partner to co-lead its U.S. corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and securities team.

  • December 02, 2024

    Metropolitan Commercial Bank Aided Voyager Fraud, Suit Says

    Voyager Digital's former bank, Metropolitan Commercial Bank, has been hit with a 53-count complaint in New York federal court alleging it was complicit in bad behavior by the now-defunct crypto lender and should be on the hook for repaying platform users.

  • December 02, 2024

    SEC, Ill. Lender Reach $4M Deal Over Failure To Register

    An Illinois convertible note dealer and its president have agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over $3.9 million to resolve claims they violated registration provisions of the federal securities laws while lending to penny stock issuers.

  • December 02, 2024

    SEC Crypto Cases To Face Review Under Trump

    President-elect Donald Trump's promises of a friendlier approach to the digital asset industry means a review is coming for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's controversial crypto suits, but experts agreed that this doesn't mean enforcement actions in the space will grind to a halt.

  • December 02, 2024

    Investor Alleges Medical Device Co. Misled On FDA Clearance

    The executives and directors of dialysis equipment company Outset Medical Inc. have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in California federal court alleging they allowed the company to market its product without proper clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

  • December 02, 2024

    Bipartisan Bill Calls For AI Studies From Financial Regulators

    Leaders of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee want to codify their commitment to regulating and cultivating the use of artificial intelligence in the financial services industry with legislation introduced Monday that directs financial and housing regulators to produce reports on the use of AI in their respective sectors.

  • December 02, 2024

    Chancery OKs $21M Deal To End Gene Co. Class Suit

    A $21 million settlement of stockholder challenges to a blank check company's take-public merger with clinical data and genomics company Sema4 Holdings in July 2021 won Delaware Court of Chancery approval Monday, with nearly $4.1 million carved out for attorney fees.

  • December 02, 2024

    SEC Taps Former Crypto Chief To Head Litigation Efforts

    The former acting chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unit in charge of overseeing cybersecurity and cryptocurrency-related cases has been promoted to chief litigation counsel, expanding his oversight authority even as a more crypto-friendly administration is slated to enter the Oval Office in January. 

  • December 02, 2024

    Top Promoter Of $58M IcomTech Crypto Ponzi Gets 10 Years

    A Manhattan federal judge hit a Florida cryptocurrency salesman on Monday with a 10-year prison sentence for his role in promoting the $58 million IcomTech Ponzi scheme, saying he victimized others in a "get rich quick" scam and may do so again.

Expert Analysis

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

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    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

  • Crypto.com's Suit Against SEC Could Hold Major Implications

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    Crypto.com's recent lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could affect the operation and regulation of crypto markets in the U.S., potentially raising more questions about the SEC's authority to regulate the industry when it's unclear whether another agency is ready to assume it, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

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    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • Don't Phone A Friend: Disclosing Friendships With Executives

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement against a former Church & Dwight chairman for violating proxy disclosure rules by neglecting to disclose his friendship with an executive officer amid a CEO search illustrates the perils of relying solely on responses to questionnaires circulated to boards, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Why Diversity Jurisdiction Poses Investment Fund Hurdles

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    Federal courts' continued application of the exacting rules of diversity jurisdiction presents particular challenges for investment funds, and in the absence of any near-term reform, those who manage such funds should take action to avoid diversity jurisdiction pitfalls, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.

  • The Ups And Downs Of SEC's Now-Dissolved ESG Task Force

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force, which was quietly disbanded sometime over the summer, was marked by three years of resistance from some stakeholders to ESG regulation, a mixed record in the courts and several successful enforcement actions, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Sound The Alarm About Lost Labor Rights

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    In the Fifth Circuit, recent rulings from judges appointed by former President Donald Trump have dismantled workers’ core labor rights, a troubling trend that we cannot risk extending under another Trump administration, say Sharon Block and Raj Nayak at the Center for Labor and a Just Economy.

  • SEC Fine Shows Risks Of Nonpublic Info In X, LinkedIn Posts

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced a settlement with DraftKings over charges arising from posting material nonpublic information on the CEO's social media accounts, highlighting that information posted to company websites and social media sites does not automatically qualify as "publicly disclosed" for purposes of Regulation FD, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • Anticipating Jarkesy's Effect On Bank Agency Enforcement

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, federal courts may eventually issue decisions on banking law principles and processes that could fundamentally alter the agencies' enforcement action framework, and the relationship between banks and examiners, says Brendan Clegg at Luse Gorman.

  • CFTC Anti-Fraud Blitz Is A Warning To Carbon Credit Sellers

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    With its recent enforcement actions against a carbon offset project developer and its senior executives for reporting false information about the energy savings of the company's projects, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is staking out its position as a primary regulator in the voluntary carbon credit market, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Unpacking State AG Approaches To Digital Asset Enforcement

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    Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor survey recent digital asset enforcement by attorneys general nationwide driven by concerns over regulatory gaps where technological developments and market changes have outpaced legislation.

  • 3 Takeaways From Navy Shipbuilder's Fraud Guilty Plea

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    Austal USA’s recent plea agreement over accounting fraud charges highlights for other companies the benefits of cooperating with government investigations, the challenges posed by senior executives’ involvement in misconduct, and the high stakes for defense contractors, say Michael DeBernardis and Shayda Vance at Hughes Hubbard.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

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