American Express will pay approximately $230 million in fines and penalties to settle allegations that it deceptively marketed credit card and wire transfer products, and also misrepresented the tax benefits of two payroll wire transfer products.
Regulatory Enforcement
Wells Fargo fined $35M, Merrill Lynch $25M over improper cash sweeps
Wells Fargo and Merrill Lynch will pay $35 million and $25 million, respectively, to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that their handling of investment accounts’ cash sweep programs violated federal law.
The Rise, Fall, and Rise of Crypto: Lessons from FTX amidst a changing regulatory landscape
As President Trump assumes power, the crypto industry is in the spotlight. Trump has tapped popular crypto advocate Paul Atkins to lead the SEC, and crypto proponents feel positive about gaining fast-tracked guidance. Crypto experts and industry leaders share insights into what the industry needs from regulators to drive innovation.
GM sued by FTC for selling location and behavioral data without drivers’ consent
General Motors failed to disclose to customers that it tracked their precise locations and driving behavior and sold the data to third parties, the Federal Trade Commission alleged in a proposed order.
Cash App owner Block to pay $175M over fraud caused by lax consumer protection practices
Block, the owner of Cash App and Square, will pay $175 million to settle allegations that its lax consumer protection practices put customers at high risk of fraud, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.
FTC orders Mobilewalla, Gravy Analytics to stop collecting geolocation data without permission
Two large data brokers, Mobilewalla and Gravy Analytics, collected billions of records containing sensitive geolocation and personal data of millions of people, and then sold it without their consent, the Federal Trade Commission said.
SEC fines cannabis hedge fund $150K for bogus AML policies, ties to Russian oligarch Abramovich
Cannabis hedge fund Navy Capital Green Management agreed to pay $150,000 to settle charges levied by the Securirties and Exchange Commission that the firm misled investors about its AML/CFT policies and allowed a sanctioned Russian oligarch to invest.
Musk sued by SEC for failing to disclose Twitter stock purchases quickly enough
Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person and the apparent right-hand man of incoming U.S. president Donald Trump, has been taken to court for a third time by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly violating securities law.
SEC issues $63M in fines to dozen firms in ongoing off-channel comms sweep
Twelve more firms have been dinged with fines by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to properly supervise employees who used off-channel communications to conduct company business. In this latest round of enforcement actions, nine investment advisers and three broker-dealers will pay a total of $63 million.
CFPB sues Capital One over ‘cheating’ customers on savings account interest rates
Capital One promised very high interest rates on millions of savings accounts but the bank didn’t deliver, losing customers more than $2 billion, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged.


