Articles Posted in Securities Fraud

Whether you are in retirement or are planning for retirement, you may consider working with a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) to manage your retirement assets. RIAs offer professional financial advice and are bound by the fiduciary duty to act in your best interest. However, there are potential issues you should be aware of as you…

One of the best ways an investor can protect the value of their investments is by equipping themselves with knowledge about common tactics scammers use to defraud investors. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have identified five of the most common techniques used in committing investment fraud. [1]…

In a stark reminder to thoroughly confirm your stockbroker’s background, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently charged a California man with defrauding investors of millions of dollars by using a patently false persona. [1] The SEC’s complaint charged Justin Costello with violations of the anti-fraud provisions of several federal securities laws as a result…

On September 2nd, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Mark Schena, the president of a Silicon-Valley medical technology company, was convicted by federal jury for his role in a $77 million fraudulent Covid-19 and allergy testing scheme. [1] The jury convicted Schena of three counts of securities fraud, two counts of…

Early this month, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the indictment of five defendants, each of whom have been charged in connection with an $8.4 million “boiler room” and money laundering scheme. [1] In addition to the DOJ’s criminal indictment of the group, the Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a civil case…

Electric automaker, Tesla, and its CEO, Elon Musk, made headlines once again this week in connection with a 2018 Twitter post. The tweet in question, posted by Elon Musk, read simply: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”[1] At the time the tweet was posted in 2018, the SEC swiftly charged both Tesla…

In the SEC’s pursuit of their mission to “protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation,” access to information about potential unlawful activity is of unique importance and interest. [1] Without access to such information, the SEC faces a much steeper battle in holding bad actors accountable and protecting both investors…

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released its long-awaited report formally debriefing the events that transpired during the January and February 2021 meme stock craze. The 44-page report, titled “Staff Report on Equity and Options Market Structure Conditions in Early 2021” provides SEC staff’s analysis of the mechanisms behind the meme stock phenomenon,…

On September 27th, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced affinity fraud charges against a Miami payday lender, Sky Group USA LLC (“Sky Group”), and its CEO, Efrain Betancourt. [1] The SEC’s complaint lists eight violations of federal securities law centering on allegations of material misrepresentations and omissions regarding Sky Group’s use of investor…

On Tuesday, September 14th, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced its first enforcement action against an alternative data provider, charging the company App Annie Inc. with securities fraud. App Annie and Bertrand Schmitt, its co-founder and former CEO and Chairman, have agreed to pay more than $10 million in a settlement with the SEC…