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Securities
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September 27, 2024
CFTC Fines Olam Group $3.25M Over Cotton Sales Reports
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday fined Singapore-based integrated supply chain manager Olam Group Ltd. $3.25 million for allegedly submitting false, misleading or inaccurate reports to the CFTC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture about its sale of U.S. cotton worth more than $190 million.
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September 27, 2024
SEC Drops Case Against Marcum CPA After High Court Ruling
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission quietly dropped an in-house proceeding Friday against a Marcum LLP accountant whose case was called into question by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that curtailed the agency's use of its administrative courts.
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September 27, 2024
SEC Fines Firms, Sues Ex-Reps' Over Cherry-Picking Scheme
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that Illinois-based Cetera Investment Advisers LLC and formerly California-based First Allied Advisory Services Inc. have each agreed to pay $200,000 to settle claims that two investment advisers formerly associated with both firms ran separate, multiyear, cherry-picking schemes that harmed investors.
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September 27, 2024
FTX Users Say Binance Manipulated Market To Spark Collapse
Users of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX told a Florida federal judge that social media posts by competing exchange Binance still manipulated markets to cause the collapse of FTX and harm users even if the statements themselves weren't false.
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September 27, 2024
Ex-CEO To Pay SEC Fine For Pre-SPAC Disclosure Failures
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday it has reached a settlement with the former CEO of an electric vehicle battery company who allegedly concealed its supply chain issues ahead of its merger with a blank check company, leading to a nearly 20% drop in the company's share price once the shortage was revealed.
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September 27, 2024
Disney Warns Investor Streaming Suit Could Chill Innovation
Allowing securities litigation over The Walt Disney Co.'s underperforming streaming service to go forward would discourage companies from trying "new, risky business plans," counsel for the entertainment giant told a California federal judge in an attempt to toss the suit Friday.
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September 27, 2024
UK Man Indicted On $4M 'Hack-To-Trade' Scheme
New Jersey federal prosecutors announced Friday that a U.K. man has been arrested and is awaiting extradition on charges of hacking into the email accounts of several corporate executives in order to steal nonpublic information that he used to turn a profit of almost $4 million.
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September 27, 2024
Mango Markets Crypto Cos. Ink $700K Deal Over SEC Claims
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday that the business entities behind decentralized cryptocurrency exchange Mango Markets agreed to a nearly $700,000 settlement to resolve alleged registration violations, which the regulator brought after the marketplace was bilked of more than $100 million.
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September 27, 2024
Juul Stockholder Class Sues In Del. Over Controller Windfall
Two stockholders of e-cigarette venture Juul Labs Inc. sued the company's controllers and board on Friday in a proposed class derivative action seeking damages for an alleged top stockholder scheme to avoid huge liabilities under terms said to have cost the company billions.
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September 27, 2024
Musk Skirts Sanctions In Missed Twitter Deposition, For Now
A California federal judge on Friday declined to sanction Elon Musk, for now, after he skipped a deposition over his $44 billion Twitter takeover, allowing the parties to resolve the issue and advising them to wait to see if he appears for the deposition that's been rescheduled for this coming Friday.
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September 27, 2024
CFTC Accuses Firms Of $3.6M Retail Forex Fraud
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday targeted a commodity trading platform the regulator alleged was behind a scheme that scammed $3.6 million from Asian American customers who thought they were investing in retail foreign exchange and commodity futures contracts.
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September 27, 2024
CFTC Fines Futures Firm $650K For Botched Records, Trades
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has fined CHS Hedging LLC $650,000 to settle allegations that it did not properly record thousands of calls between associates and customers and failed to obtain customer authorizations before entering trades over a four-year period.
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September 27, 2024
2nd Circ. Won't Revive Danimer Investors' 'Greenwashing' Suit
The Second Circuit on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing Danimer Scientific Inc. of over-hyping the environmentally friendly nature of a plastics alternative it produced, with the appellate court saying that there was no proof that company executives purposefully misled investors.
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September 27, 2024
Early Trump Media Backer Dumps Shares As Lockup Expires
An early investor in former President Donald Trump's social media platform has unloaded most of its stake, marking the first divestiture following the expiration of a lockup period that restricted sales after Trump's entity went public earlier this year.
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September 27, 2024
Pharma Co. Amarin Beats Class Action Over Patent Issues
A New Jersey federal judge has tossed a proposed class action against pharmaceutical company Amarin and its top brass, alleging they misled shareholders about their products and the prospects of related patent litigation, saying the investors have failed to plead any actionable misleading statements or omissions made by the defendants.
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September 27, 2024
Cooley Accused Of Hiding Fraud From Startup Investors
A former board member of a dry-cleaning delivery startup has alleged in New Jersey federal court that Cooley LLP and its attorneys deliberately kept investors in the dark about fraud claims against the startup's chief executive.
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September 27, 2024
Sen. Bill Would Curb ESG Factors In Retirement Fund Choices
A bill in the Senate would prohibit asset managers from prioritizing environmental, social and governance, or ESG, factors over financial gain when selecting retirement investments.
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September 27, 2024
NY Man Convicted In Father-Son Crypto Caper
A Long Island man was convicted by a Manhattan federal jury of conspiring with his son to scam investors out of millions by claiming to invest their cryptocurrency and instead pocketing the funds.
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September 27, 2024
TelexFree Victims Say Payment Processor Lost Key Emails
Victims of the multibillion-dollar TelexFree Ponzi scheme said a payment processor's loss of critical emails and other files related to the ploy amounts to a "blatant coverup" to hide evidence that would have otherwise bolstered their case against the company.
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September 26, 2024
SEC Fines Cassava $40M Over Alzheimer's Treatment Claims
Neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company Cassava Sciences Inc. and two of its former executives agreed to pay over $40 million to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims related to allegedly misleading statements about clinical trial results for a potential Alzheimer's disease therapeutic, the regulator announced on Thursday.
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September 26, 2024
Cannabis REIT Beats Investor Class Action For Good
A New Jersey federal judge has allowed a cannabis-focused real estate investment trust and certain executives to permanently escape a proposed class action brought by the company's shareholders, finding the lawsuit failed to allege the defendants did not conduct proper due diligence on a major tenant accused of engaging in fraud.
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September 26, 2024
2nd Circ. Questions Crypto Co.'s 'Control' In Scam Token Suit
Investors attempting to revive their suit around decentralized crypto exchange Uniswap Labs told a Second Circuit panel on Thursday that their claims were prematurely dismissed, while a judge pressed them to show how any of the defendants had control of the alleged "rampant fraud" on the platform.
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September 26, 2024
Tornado Cash Developer Must Face Criminal Case
The founder of cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash can't escape charges he conspired to launder money and violate sanctions, after a Manhattan federal judge ruled in an oral opinion Thursday that his "narrative" of being prosecuted over writing computer code should be put before a jury.
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September 26, 2024
Sen. Warren Presses OCC, Fed For Tighter Leash On NYCB
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., demanded Wednesday that federal regulators slap New York Community Bancorp with a higher minimum capital requirement, calling out what she alleges has been lax oversight of the bank.
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September 26, 2024
Spain Can't Escape $26M Award, DC Judge Rules
A D.C. federal judge on Thursday enforced a €23.5 million ($26.3 million) arbitral award issued against Spain after the country dialed back its renewable energy incentives, rejecting Madrid's argument that the tribunal had infringed the authority of European Union courts.
Expert Analysis
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It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers
Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.
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Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.
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5 Lessons From Consulting Firm's Successful DOJ Disclosure
The Boston Consulting Group recently received a rare declination of prosecution from the U.S. Department of Justice after self-disclosing a foreign bribery scheme, and the firm’s series of savvy steps after discovering the misconduct provides useful data points for white collar defense attorneys, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG
A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.
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7 Takeaways For Investment Advisers From FinCEN AML Rule
With a new FinCEN rule that will require covered investment advisers to implement anti-money laundering programs and comply with extra recordkeeping requirements by 2026, companies should begin planning necessary updates to their policies and procedures by focusing on seven of the rule’s key requirements, identified by attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Del. Dispatch: Drafting Lessons For Earnout Provisions
The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Medal v. Beckett Collectibles provides guidance for avoiding ambiguity in provisions relating to the acceleration of earnout payments under specified circumstances, and provisions mandating good faith negotiations before bringing earnout litigation, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs
An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.
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Missouri Injunction A Setback For State Anti-ESG Rules
A Missouri federal court’s recent order enjoining the state’s anti-ESG rules comes amid actions by state legislatures to revise or invalidate similar legislation imposing disclosure and consent requirements around environmental, social and governance investing, and could be a blueprint for future challenges, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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New Lessons On Managing Earnout Provision Risks
Earnout provisions can be a useful tool for bridging valuation gaps in M&A, particularly in developmental-stage pharmaceutical transactions, but the Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision in Shareholder Representative Services v. Alexion sheds new light on the inherent risks and best practices for managing them, say attorneys at Cleary.
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Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls
Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.
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How Companies Are Approaching Insider Trading Policies
An analysis of insider trading policies recently disclosed by 49 S&P 500 companies under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule reveals that while specific provisions vary from company to company, certain common themes are emerging, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Increased IPOs In '24 Shows Importance Of Strategic Planning
Initial public offerings, debt issuances and M&A activity so far in 2024 have shown substantial increases over comparable periods in 2023, highlighting why counsel should educate clients on market trends and financing alternatives to proactively prepare them to be ready to take advantage of opportunities, say attorneys at Skadden.
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.
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Navigating New Enforcement Scrutiny Of 'AI Washing'
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against Joonko Diversity, its first public AI-focused enforcement action against a private company, underscores the importance of applying the same internal legal and compliance rigor to AI-related claims as other market-facing statements, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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How Fund Advisers Can Limit Election Year Pay-To-Play Risks
With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz now the Democratic candidate for vice president, politically active investment advisers should take practical steps to avoid triggering strict pay-to-play rules that can lead to fund managers facing mutli-year timeouts from working with public funds after contributing to sitting officials, say attorneys at Dechert.