Four Long Island men charged with $2M “free-riding” scheme
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced fraud charges against Eduardo Hernandez, Christopher Flagg, Daquan Lloyd, and Corey Ortiz, all currently or formerly of Long Island, New York, for perpetrating a multi-year “free-riding” scheme that generated more than $2 million in illicit profits.
The SEC alleges that, from approximately November 2018 through January 2022, the defendants opened...
CA resident charged with multimillion dollar ponzi scheme
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Richmond, California resident Tilila Walker Sumchai with raising approximately $11.8 million from more than 1,000 investors through a fraudulent securities offering targeting members of the Tongan American community across the United States.
According to the SEC’s complaint, from approximately January 2021 through October 2021, Sumchai convinced retail investors to acquire...
LA-Based Media and Entertainment Company Charged with Unregistered Offering of NFTs
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission this week charged Impact Theory, LLC, a media and entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, with conducting an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities in the form of purported non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Impact Theory raised approximately $30 million from hundreds of investors, including investors across the United States, through the offering.
According...
Former New Jersey Corrections Officer Charged with Crypto Fraud Scheme Targeting Law Enforcement Personnel
John DeSalvo also charged with fraud in separate investment scheme
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged former New Jersey State Correctional Police Officer John A. DeSalvo with fraudulently raising funds through the unregistered offering of the Blazar Token, a crypto asset security he created but that collapsed in May 2022. The SEC also charged DeSalvo with...
SEC obtains emergency order against Utah-based company’s crypto asset fraud scheme
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that it obtained a temporary asset freeze, restraining order, and other emergency relief against Digital Licensing Inc., a Draper, Utah based entity doing business as “DEBT Box,” as well as the company’s four principals, Jason Anderson, his brother Jacob Anderson, Schad Brannon, and Roydon Nelson, and 13 other defendants...
RSE Markets Inc. Charged for Operating an Unregistered Securities Exchange
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced settled charges against RSE Markets Inc. for operating as an unregistered exchange by maintaining and providing a marketplace and facilities that brought together purchasers and sellers of securities, specifically equity interests in “collectible assets” such as valuable cars and watches.
The SEC’s order finds that, between July 1, 2018, and...
Former Pfizer Statistician Charged with Insider Trading
Employee and friend traded ahead of Pfizer’s “game-changer” announcement on the success of its Paxlovid trial
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced insider trading charges against Amit Dagar, a former Pfizer Inc. employee, and his close friend and business partner, Atul Bhiwapurkar, for trading in advance of the company’s November 5, 2021, announcement that a randomized,...
Former Coinbase Manager and His Brother Agree to Settle Insider Trading Charges Relating to Crypto Asset Securities
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, agreed to settle charges that they engaged in insider trading through a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding at least nine crypto asset securities that would be made available for trading on the Coinbase platform....
HSBC and Scotia Capital Charged with Widespread Recordkeeping Failures
Firms admit to wrongdoing and agree to pay penalties in SEC’s ongoing recordkeeping initiative
Washington D.C., — The Securities and Exchange Commission this week charged HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. for widespread and longstanding failures by both firms and their employees to maintain and preserve electronic communications. To settle the charges, HSBC and Scotia acknowledged that...