Bruce Carton

This running SEC Trial Scorecard tracks the SEC’s trials and outcomes for FY 2015. To date in FY 2015, which began on October 1, 2014, the SEC has now had five trials in federal court reach a verdict (see the full list below). The most recent verdict was reached on April 1 by a federal […]

On Dec. 16, 2011, the SEC charged three former top executives of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) with securities fraud. The SEC alleged that the executives “knew and approved of misleading statements claiming the companies had minimal holdings of higher-risk mortgage loans, including subprime loans.” Yesterday, however, the SEC’s case against the […]

The already-bizarre Brazilian insider-trading case against former billionaire Eike Batista “desended into farce” this week when the presiding judge was charged with embezzling more than $360,000 in seized money to buy himself a bulletproof Land Rover and an apartment. Prosecutors also claim that Judge Souza destroyed documents pertaining to the seized assets as part of this embezzlement. More inside.

Ramalinga Raju, former chairman and CEO of Satyam Computer Services, was found guilty in an Indian court this week and sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in “India’s Enron”—a $1 billion accounting fraud that was revealed in 2009. Raju also admitted in a letter to Satyam’s board of directors that he had engaged in fradulent activities, which he said began as a one-time effort to conceal a bad quarter that spiraled out of control. More inside.

Today, in a ruling that may have significant consequences, the Second Circuit rejected the DOJ’s petition for a rehearing in the landmark U.S. v. Newman insider trading case. The DOJ filed a “Petition for Panel Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc” in the Newman case on January 23, which was supported by an amicus curiae brief that same […]

Recently, as my kids were watching Will Ferrell’s movie, The Other Guys (2010), I learned that the film includes a scene in which Ferrell and his police partner, Mark Wahlberg, make a visit to the SEC to turn evidence over to a investigator. In the clip below, Ferrell tells the investigator that he has heard the SEC “is […]

In a recent internal report, Citigroup’s cyberintelligence center warned employees that law firms are targets of attacks by foreign governments and hackers because they house valuable data concerning their clients’ transactions and strategies. According to the NY Times, the Citigroup report alerted employees that cybersecurity at law firms remains weak as compared to other industries and […]

Last week, Andrew Ceresney, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, testified before the Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. Ceresney provided the subcommittee with details on how the Enforcement Division would use a proposed increase in the SEC’s budget for FY 2016, as well as an update on […]

Yesterday I wrote here about the jury verdict reached this week in the SEC’s trial against former Chicago Bears wide receiver Willie Gault. I wrote that “the jury found that Gault was not liable on any of the four fraud-related charges against him, but that he was liable on three less serious charges alleging violations […]