Articles Posted in News Releases

In November 2012, the SEC reported that the 2009 overhaul of its investigative forces had resulted with a record number of enforcement actions over the past two years. For example the SEC reported 734 enforcement actions in fiscal 2012 and 735 in 2011. The SEC stated “the sustained high-level performance comes two years after the division underwent…

On February 21, 2013, a FINRA hearing panel dismissed two of three causes in a February 2012 complaint against Charles Schwab & Company. The complaint focused on Charles Schwab’s amendment to its customer agreements to prohibit customers from bringing class actions in court. FINRA brought its disciplinary proceeding that alleged that the provision violated FINRA’s rules…

On February 22, 2013 the SEC released the results from its recent study which suggests that investor confidence in the markets rose in 2012. The study, conducted by the SEC’s Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation, showed that money raised through registered investment offerings rose 22% from 2011 to 2012. In addition, over the past two…

On February 21, 2013, the SEC released its 2013 examination priorities for a range of issues at financial institutions. Carlo V. di Florio, Director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, stated “we are publishing these priorities to promote compliance and communicate with investors and our registrants about areas that we perceive to have heightened…

On February 19, 2013, Lockheed Martin Corp. agreed to pay $19.5 million to settle a securities fraud class-action lawsuit. In July 2011, the City of Pontiac General Employees’ Retirement System, the public employees’ pension fund for Pontiac, Michigan, accused Lockheed for misleading investors about its information technology division. Lockheed was blamed for misstatements that led to…

On February 19, 2013, FINRA announced it fined five affiliates of ING $1.2 million for failing to retain or review millions of emails for periods ranging from two months to more than six years. The five firms include: Directed Services, LLC; ING America Equities, Inc.; ING Financial Advisers, LLC; ING Financial Partners, Inc.; and ING Investment Advisors,…

On February 14, 2013, FINRA sent an email to member firms that detailed its plan to reissue a package of controversial membership rules. The email stated that FINRA board had approved issuing a revised rule proposal. The original proposal drew a harsh response from the industry because they believed the proposed rules were over-reaching. FINRA’s original…

On February 11, 2013, we posted a blog entitled Interesting Points From the S&P Lawsuit, which detailed the interesting aspects to watch in the wake of the recent S&P lawsuit. It specifically detailed how the U.S. Government has insisted on an admission of guilt from S&P and has not backed down, which is in contrast to…

On February 15, 2013, the SEC obtained default judgments against Sean David Morton, a nationally-recognized psychic who billed himself as “America’s Prophet,” his wife, Melissa Morton, and corporate shell entities co-owned by the Mortons. The SEC charged Morton with engaging in a multi-million dollar fraudulent scheme. According to the complaint, Morton fraudulently raised more than $5…

On February 13, 2013, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens announced that Georgia has moved to join a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Dodd-Frank Act. The lawsuit Georgia seeks to join was originally filed by a small Texas community bank in June 2012. The suit requested the court to invalidate Dodd-Frank because it gives the federal government “unprecedented,…