Securities

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • September 26, 2024

    SEC Fines Fla. Advisory Firm Over Whistleblower Barriers

    Florida-based investment management company GQG Partners LLC has settled U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that the company made it difficult for a former employee and prospective workers to report potential securities law violations, the SEC said on Thursday.

  • September 26, 2024

    SEC Fines DraftKings $200K Over CEO's Social Media Blasts

    DraftKings agreed to pay a $200,000 fine to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission administrative charges that the online sports betting platform shared nonpublic sales growth information with some of its investors through its CEO's social media without disclosing the information to all investors, the agency said Thursday.

  • September 26, 2024

    Fintech Firm Can't Dodge Investor Suit Over Lending Program

    A New York federal judge has trimmed some allegations in a proposed class action lawsuit against payment processing company StoneCo Ltd. while allowing shareholders to move forward with claims that the company underplayed its role in the failure of a merchant lending program it once offered in Brazil.

  • September 26, 2024

    5th Circ. Dusts Off FDIC Challenge In Jarkesy's Wake

    The Fifth Circuit moved Wednesday to pick back up with a former bank CEO's challenge to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. enforcement proceedings, taking the case off pause now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a similar challenge involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • September 26, 2024

    Healthcare REIT Defeats Investor Suit For Good

    An Alabama federal judge on Thursday permanently tossed an investor suit against a healthcare-focused real estate investment trust, Medical Properties Trust Inc., that alleged the trust hid the poor performance of four acute care hospitals it owns in Pennsylvania, saying the plaintiff's asserted theory in the suit "is somewhat Jekyll and Hyde."

  • September 26, 2024

    Chancery Tosses Carvana Suit Alleging Faulty Sales

    Delaware's chancellor has dismissed a stockholder derivative case against online used-car dealer Carvana Inc. that sought damages for alleged insider trading and legal complaince monitoring failures, a case that defense attorneys had branded "repackaged" from past or pending federal securities actions.

  • September 26, 2024

    SEC Scores Partial Win In Suit Over Blockchain Co.'s ICO

    A New York federal judge has partially granted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's motion for summary judgment in a suit accusing blockchain marketplace company Opporty International Inc. and its Brooklyn-based owner of conducting a fraudulent initial coin offering of unregistered digital asset securities.

  • September 26, 2024

    SEC Accuses NC Business Owner Of $28M Ponzi-Like Fraud

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a suit in North Carolina federal court accusing an investment firm owner of defrauding investors through a $28 million Ponzi-like manufacturing debt investment scheme.

  • September 26, 2024

    Nvidia Seeks 'Unworkable' Pleading Standard, Justices Told

    Nvidia Corp. shareholders asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject the company's "unworkable" reading of the pleading standards under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, arguing that they've presented plenty of evidence to move forward with claims that the company hid its $1 billion exposure to the volatile cryptocurrency market.

  • September 26, 2024

    Conn. Jury Finds Oil Trader Guilty In Petrobras Bribery Scheme

    A Connecticut federal jury convicted a former oil trader on charges that he sent millions in bribes through an intermediary to officials at Brazilian state oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro, capping a three-week trial on Thursday.

  • September 26, 2024

    Southwest Airlines Touts Big Changes Amid Activist Pressure

    Southwest Airlines on Thursday revealed a number of developments key to a "transformational" plan meant to drive revenue growth as the airline faces pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, including the appointment of a new director and a $2.5 billion repurchase program.

  • September 26, 2024

    Robinhood Arbitration Pact Not Obvious To Users, Judge Says

    Robinhood Financial LLC cannot show that a user who claims the platform failed to notify him of important developments regarding his investments was made aware of an arbitration clause buried in the company's user agreement, a Massachusetts state court judge said.

  • September 26, 2024

    Ex-NBA Star Tells Jury He Was Duped By Ga. Businessman

    Former NBA superstar Dwight Howard told a Manhattan federal jury Thursday that an Atlanta businessman tricked him into making a $7 million investment that he thought was for the purchase of a women's basketball franchise, a promise that turned out to be "a slap in the face."

  • September 25, 2024

    SEC Fines Alphabet, Others Over Stock Ownership Reports

    Alphabet Inc., Goldman Sachs and several other entities and individuals were hit with a combined total of over $3.8 million in penalties on allegations they failed to report information about their holdings and transactions in a timely manner, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday.

  • September 25, 2024

    In-House Counsel To Play Central Role At AI Cos., VCs Say

    Venture capital firms expect in-house counsel at artificial intelligence companies to play a bigger role in their businesses due to regulatory uncertainties around AI, while a professor who helped pioneer the technology warned that transparency of commercial AI businesses should be "top of mind," attorneys heard at the seventh annual Berkeley Law AI Institute Wednesday.

  • September 25, 2024

    Sullivan & Cromwell Didn't Ignore FTX 'Red Flags,' Report Says

    The Chapter 11 examiner appointed in the bankruptcy case of fallen cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading determined Wednesday that debtor law firm Sullivan & Cromwell didn't ignore any "red flags" about FTX's misconduct related to a $500 million purchase of stock in financial service and digital trading platform Robinhood Markets Inc.

  • September 25, 2024

    Basel Edits 'Encouraging' But Incomplete, Republicans Say

    House Republicans signaled at a Wednesday hearing that they want further softening of federal banking regulators' so-called Basel III endgame proposal for tougher big-bank capital requirements, casting recently floated potential changes as insufficient to ensure the plans won't pose an economic threat.

  • September 25, 2024

    Feds Urge Judge Not To Ax Novel Insider Trading Conviction

    Prosecutors have hit back at former Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer's bid to ax his first-of-its-kind insider trading conviction and score a new trial, telling a California federal judge that the jury had all the information it needed to find Peizer guilty in June.

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating New Enforcement Scrutiny Of 'AI Washing'

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    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.

  • How Fund Advisers Can Limit Election Year Pay-To-Play Risks

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    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.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • 'Pig Butchering': The Scam That Exploits Crypto Confusion

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    Certain red flags can tip off banks to possible "pig-butchering," and with the scam's increasing popularity, financial institutions need to take action to monitor entry points into the crypto space, detect suspicious activity and provide a necessary backstop to protect customers, say Brandon Essig and Mary Parrish McCracken at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Opinion

    Agencies Should Reward Corporate Cyber Victim Cooperation

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    The increased regulatory scrutiny on corporate victims of cyberattacks — exemplified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against SolarWinds — should be replaced with a new model that provides adequate incentives for companies to come forward proactively and collaborate with law enforcement, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • 9 Liability Management Tips As Debt Maturity Cliff Looms

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    As the debt maturity cliff swiftly approaches in this challenging environment, attorneys at Winston & Strawn highlight the top considerations for boards of directors and finance professionals to think about when structuring and executing liability management transactions, including reviewing capital structure, evaluating debt covenants, and more.

  • How Transaction Lookbacks Can Guide Fintech Companies

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    As transaction lookbacks continue to be a key focus of enforcement actions, newer financial institutions like fintech companies should know they can benefit from proactively investigating their potential failure to identify suspicious activity, creating a compliance road map and building trust with regulators in the process, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Ways Life Sciences Cos. Can Manage Insider Trading Risk

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    In light of two high-profile insider trading jury decisions against life sciences executives this year, public companies in the sector should revise their policies to account for regulators' new and more expansive theories of liability, says Amy Walsh at Orrick.

  • Series

    A Day In The In-House Life: Narmi GC Talks Peak Productivity

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    On a work-from-home day in August, Narmi general counsel Amy Pardee chronicles a typical day in her life in which she organizes her time to tackle everything from advising on products and contract negotiations to volunteering and catching up on the New York Times crossword.

  • How Ripple Final Judgment Fits In Broader Crypto Landscape

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    The Southern District of New York's recent $125 million civil penalty levied in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple will have a broad impact on the crypto industry as it was the first to hold that blind sales of digital assets are not securities, even if deemed securities in other circumstances, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    After Chevron: SEC Climate And ESG Rules Likely Doomed

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    Under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright, without agency deference, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure and environmental, social and governance rules would likely be found lacking in statutory support and vacated by the courts, says Justin Chretien at Carlton Fields.

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

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