SEC Charges Archegos and its Founder with Massive Market Manipulation Scheme

Multiple Archegos Executives Charged with Misleading Counterparties Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Sung Kook (Bill) Hwang, the owner of family office Archegos Capital Management, LP (Archegos), with orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that resulted in billions of dollars in losses. The SEC also charged Archegos’s Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Halligan; head trader, William Tomita; and Chief...

SEC Nearly Doubles Size of Enforcement’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit

Washington D.C., May 3, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the allocation of 20 additional positions to the unit responsible for protecting investors in crypto markets and from cyber-related threats. The newly renamed Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit (formerly known as the Cyber Unit) in the Division of Enforcement will grow to 50 dedicated positions. "The U.S....

President of Synergy Settlement Services accused of misusing beneficiaries’ funds on golf tournaments and beach parties

Defendants allegedly used funds from deceased beneficiaries’ accounts on golf tournaments and beach parties Washington D.C., May 2, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against Synergy Settlement Services, Inc., CEO Jason D. Lazarus, Esq., both based in Orlando, FL, and President Anthony F. Prieto, Jr. of Tampa, FL, for allegedly defrauding individuals with disabilities into...

Pharmacist Sentenced for $180 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

A former Mississippi pharmacist was sentenced this week to 10 years in the Southern District of Mississippi for a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud TRICARE and private insurance companies by paying kickbacks to distributors for the referral of medically unnecessary prescriptions. The conduct resulted in more than $180 million in fraudulent billings, including more than $50 million paid by federal...

Brazilian Mining Company Charged with Misleading Investors about Safety Prior to Deadly Dam Collapse

Since 2016, Vale manipulated safety audits and obtained fraudulent stability certificates Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Vale S.A., a publicly traded Brazilian mining company and one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, with making false and misleading claims about the safety of its dams prior to the January 2019 collapse of its Brumadinho dam....

SEC Announces Older Investor Roundtable Virtual Event on April 28

Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission will hold a virtual event on April 28 along with the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and the AARP to examine the latest challenges and issues affecting the senior investor community. The Older Investor Roundtable will include panel discussions geared toward older investors, consumer advocates, and financial professionals nationwide as topics...

Check out SEC’s updated list of firms using inaccurate information to solicit investors

Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it updated its list of unregistered entities that use misleading information to solicit primarily non-U.S. investors, adding 58 soliciting entities, 11 impersonators of genuine firms, and one bogus regulator. The SEC’s list of soliciting entities that have been the subject of investor complaints, known as the Public Alert: Unregistered...

Sameday Health settles with LA over fake COVID-19 test results

Los Angeles – Calling alleged actions by a COVID-19 testing company a serious violation of public trust, City Attorney Mike Feuer has announced two settlements valued at a total of $26,454,593. One settlement for $22.5 million resolved allegations that the Venice-based national COVID-testing chain Sameday Technologies (doing business as Sameday Health) and its CEO Felix Huettenbach faked and forged...

DOJ announces nationwide coordinated law enforcement action to combat health care-related COVID-19 fraud

Criminal Charges Brought Against Owners and Executives of Medical Businesses, Physicians, Marketers, and Manufacturers of Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards with Losses Exceeding $149 Million The Department of Justice today announced criminal charges against 21 defendants in nine federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various health care related fraud schemes that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic....

16 defendants charged in international $194M “pump and dump” plots

SEC Uncovers $194 Million Penny Stock Schemes that Spanned Three Continents This week the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against 16 defendants, located in the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Monaco, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, for participating in multi-year fraudulent penny stock schemes that generated more than $194 million in illicit proceeds....