A jury’s mixed verdict in the SEC’s case against fund manager Marlon Quan had both the SEC and Quan declaring victory yesterday, although the SEC seems to have gotten the better of it. As I discussed in detail here this month, the SEC has engaged in an extraordinary flurry of trials since October 1, 2013, […]
Bruce Carton
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC’s Canellos Re-Joining Milbank, Tweed as Global Head of Litigation
On January 3, 2014, the SEC announced that George S. Canellos, co-director of its Enforcement Division, would be leaving the agency that month but that he had “not yet made future career plans.” Today, Canellos’ post-government plans were revealed, as law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy announced that Canellos will be joining the firm in mid-March as Global Head […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
SEC Increasingly Taking Cases to Trial, but Recent Record Is Dismal
Since joining the Securities and Exchange Commission as chairman in April 2013, Mary Jo White has emphasized the importance of taking cases all the way to trial. And while critics have questioned whether the agency has the budget and the manpower to take on numerous drawn-out, resource-intensive trials, White has voiced her belief that the […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Martoma Roundup: SAC Trader Convicted on Two Counts of Securities Fraud, One Count of Conspiracy
Yesterday, a federal jury in Manhattan found Matthew Martoma, a former trader at SAC Capital, guilty on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy related to an insider trading scheme. The scheme allegedly involved Martoma receiving and trading on inside information he obtained from doctors related to a pharmaceutical trial for an Alzheimer’s drug. Here are the […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
ASIC Takes to YouTube to Defend Decision Not to Pursue Insider Trading Charges in David Jones Case
The SEC has a YouTube Channel, but it rarely uses it. As you can see here, the SEC’s channel is currently used only sporadically and typically (with some limited exceptions, e.g., “The SEC Internship Experience”) as a repository for old videos of open Commission meetings. Down Under, however, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission–Australia’s primary […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
DOJ Prosecutor Patrick Stokes Selected to Head FCPA Unit
Patrick Stokes, previously the co-head of the Securities and Financial Fraud unit of the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section, has been named as the new Chief of the DOJ’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit. Stokes succeeds Chuck Duross, who left the DOJ on January 24 and will be joining the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Morrison […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Cash-Strapped SFO Makes Urgent Request to Treasury for £19M
The SEC is trying to push through budgetary challenges arising from the recently-passed spending bill for FY 2014, but it can still feel good that it does not face the types of constraints facing the UK’s Serious Fraud Office. The SFO had to apply to the Treasury this week for £19m “to meet an urgent […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Why CFO is the ‘The Most Dangerous Job in Corporate America’
Yesterday I moderated an interesting webcast focused on the significant liability risks facing CFOs–risks which, according to the webcasts’s panel, add up to make the CFO position “the most dangerous job in Corporate America.” The webcast analyzed the heightened scrutiny and liability CFOs face under Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank, including newly-enacted provisions that provide for significant […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC’s ‘NEAT’ Tool Sifts Massive Quantities of Trade Data to Flag Insider Trading
In a speech delivered yesterday at the 41st Annual Securities Regulation Institute in Coronado, California, SEC Chair Mary Jo White announced that a “revolutionary” new tool for identifying insider trading by investment firms will be rolled out in 2014. The new technology, known as the National Exam Analytics Tool (“NEAT”), was developed by the Quantitative Analytics Unit in […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC Subpoena Enforcement for Documents and Testimony Results in Rare Arrest
It is a long and rarely-traveled road between receiving a subpoena for documents or testimony from the SEC and actually getting yourself arrested, but Anthony Coronati completed the journey down that road today when he was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service. In announcing the arrest today, the SEC stated that it is investigating whether Coronati, the founder […]
