2019 court case against Hadari Oshri exposes her dodgy, aggressive legal maneuvers

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: On June 22, 2021, Hadari Oshri –Marc Lubaszka’s business partner– filed a frivolous civil harassment restraining order (CHRO) against Investor News reporter Aitana Vargas to stop the publication of her investigative series “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar crime,” and any subsequent installments or future media coverage. On August 3, 2021, Vargas filed an...

$90 Million Yacht of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Viktor Vekselberg Seized by Spain at Request of US

Note: Footage of the seizure is available here. View the statement from the Attorney General on today's seizure here. Spanish law enforcement this week executed a Spanish court order freezing the Motor Yacht (M/Y) Tango (the Tango), a 255-foot luxury yacht owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Spanish authorities acted pursuant to a request from the U.S. Department of Justice for assistance...

Takeover Bid of Fortune 500 Company was a Sham, SEC claims

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Melville ten Cate, a U.S. citizen residing abroad, with fraud stemming from his allegedly phony offer to purchase Textron – a large U.S.-listed aircraft, defense, and industrial company. The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, alleges that on November 9, 2020, ten Cate and Xcalibur Aerospace, Ltd., a now-defunct private...

SEC Proposes Rules to Include Certain Significant Market Participants as “Dealers” or “Government Securities Dealers”

Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed proposed two rules that would require market participants, such as proprietary (or principal) trading firms, who assume certain dealer functions, in particular those who as act as liquidity providers in the markets, to register with the SEC, become members of a self-regulatory organization (SRO), and comply with federal securities...

SEC Proposes Rules to Enhance Disclosure and Investor Protection Relating to Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, Shell Companies, and Projections

Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed new rules and amendments to enhance disclosure and investor protection in initial public offerings by special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and in business combination transactions involving shell companies, such as SPACs, and private operating companies. "Nearly 90 years ago, Congress addressed certain policy issues around companies raising money from the...

Tech Company Employees, Family and Friends Charged in $1M Scheme in California

SEC Charges Seven California Residents in Insider Trading Ring Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced insider trading charges against three software engineers employed at Twilio, Inc., a San Francisco-based cloud computing communications company, and four family members and friends for allegedly generating more than $1 million in collective profits by insider trading ahead of the company’s...

Women’s History Month Event: SEC to Host Free Virtual Financial Fraud Webinar

Washington D.C. — On March 29, 2022 at 7 p.m. ET the Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office, in coordination with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Tau Omega Chapter, will celebrate women’s history month with a free investor education panel discussion about staying safe from financial fraud. The panel will feature four women from the SEC’s New York...

SEC Proposes Amendments to Remove References to Credit Ratings from Regulation M

Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to propose changes that would remove the references to credit rating agencies from existing exceptions provided in Rule 101 and Rule 102 of Regulation M, a set of rules designed to preserve market integrity by prohibiting activities that could artificially influence the market for an offered security. "In Section 939A...

FBI crime report released: Victims lost $6.9b to internet-enabled scams in 2021

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released its annual report. The 2021 Internet Crime Report (pdf) includes information from 847,376 complaints of suspected internet crime—a 7% increase from 2020—and reported losses exceeding $6.9 billion. State-specific statistics have also been released and can be found within the 2021 Internet Crime Report and in the accompanying 2021 State Reports. The top three cyber crimes reported by...

SEC Proposes Rules to Enhance and Standardize Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors

Washington D.C., March 21, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed rule changes that would require registrants to include certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports, including information about climate-related risks that are reasonably likely to have a material impact on their business, results of operations, or financial condition, and certain climate-related financial statement metrics...