The SEC announced today that it has filed a “pay-to-play” case against Goldman, Sachs & Co. and one of its former investment bankers. The SEC alleges that Goldman and Neil M.M. Morrison, a former vice president in the firm’s Boston office, made undisclosed campaign contributions to then-Massachusetts state treasurer Timothy P. Cahill while he was a candidate […]
Bruce Carton
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
DOJ Guidance on FCPA Expected in Next Two Weeks
It’s coming … soon … supposedly. Sometime in the next two weeks, the Department of Justice is expected to release its long-awaited guidance on the the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The WSJ reported in August that the DOJ plans to release the guidance prior to the October 10 meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Madoff Trustee Sends Out Another $2.479 Billion to Ponzi Scheme Victims
On Wednesday of this week, Irving H. Picard, the trustee for the liquidation of Bernard Madoff’s firm, mailed out checks totaling approximately $2.479 billion to Madoff accountholders with allowed claims. Picard stated that the average payment was slightly more than $2 million, with the smallest check being for $1,784 and the largest for $526 million. […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC Doles Out Cooperation Credit in Insider-Trading Case
In March of this year, the SEC began filing cases in which it recognized, for the first time, the “substantial” or “significant” cooperation provided by certain individuals in its investigations. Those cases were the initial results of the “Enforcement Cooperation Initiative” the SEC introduced in 2010, which included formal written cooperation agreements. The latest “cooperation case” […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Stanford Conviction Sets a Series of Legal Activity in Motion
When cases of major corporate fraud are exposed, the criminal and regulatory investigations that follow typically go on for years. When and if there is a criminal trial of the CEO, that trial often marks the end of the proceedings and provides closure. The big fish has been landed, now it’s time to go home. […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Federal Agency Rankings Update: SEC’s ‘Third Best in 2007’ Now a Distant Memory
You may recall that in March 2010, I observed that the SEC’s job ads curiously still touted the fact that that the agency was “RANKED THIRD BEST FEDERAL WORKPLACE FOR 2007!”(capital letters, bold face and exclamation point in original). I wasn’t clear on why this ranking still held so much weight several years later, but I decided to get […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
IRS Awards Whistleblower $104 Million Following Huge UBS Settlement
Back in May 2012, Sean McKessy, chief of the SEC’s Whistleblower Office, said he hoped the first whistleblower payout would be substantial and help motivate people who may be considering bringing a tip to the government. When the first payout finally came last month, it was for the not-so-staggering amount of $50,000. McKessy would probably […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Stanford Victims Make History, Survive Motion to Dismiss in Case Against SEC
Victims of the Madoff Ponzi scheme have been repeatedly unsuccessful in efforts to sue the SEC for the agency’s negligence in handling and investigating the Madoff Ponzi scheme. Last week, however, a federal court in Florida ruled that a case brought by victims of the Stanford Ponzi scheme alleging negligence against the SEC could go forward — […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Web Watch: Best of the Week Ending September 7
Throughout the week over at Securities Docket I highlight the most interesting columns and blog posts from around the web on the subjects of SEC enforcement and securities litigation. Here is a digest of my picks for the week ending September 7. What to Watch Now in the World of D&O Kevin LaCroix, The D […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Don’t Swipe the Magazine, Eugene: Adding to the ’50 Ways to Insider Trade’
On his blog at Forbes, Walter Pavlo is channeling his inner Paul Simon (“There Must Be 50 Ways to Inside Trade”). Pavlo says we need a tool, a jingle, for compliance programs to help them relay a simple message to their employees …. DON’T TRADE ON INSIDE INFORMATION!!! With nearly 70 people now tagged as […]
