Spotlight

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...

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...

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...

Online dating can be a great way to find lasting love – or even your next fling. But reports to the FTC suggest it also creates opportunities for scammers. In the past five years, people have reported losing a staggering $1.3 billion to romance scams, more than any other FTC fraud category. The numbers have skyrocketed in recent years,...

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...

Los Angeles – Two downtown Los Angeles residents were arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging they fraudulently obtained more than $300,000 – and attempted to obtain an additional $1 million – in COVID-relief loans for several companies they claimed to own and operate. Sean Schoepflin, 42, a.k.a. “Sean Fitzgerald,” and Erika Leon, 44, a.k.a. “Erika Fitzgerald,” are each charged...

Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed amendments to its rules to enhance and standardize disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance, and incident reporting by public companies. "Over the years, our disclosure regime has evolved to reflect evolving risks and investor needs," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "Today, cybersecurity is an emerging risk with which public...

A federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina convicted two men this week for the submission of fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.7 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. According to evidence presented during a six-day trial, Izzat...

Washington D.C. – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced three awards totaling approximately $3 million to whistleblowers who provided information and assistance in three separate covered actions. In the first order, the SEC issued an award of approximately $1.5 million to a whistleblower who provided new information that caused the SEC staff to commence an examination and later open...

Three Defendants Have Pleaded Guilty to Fraud Conspiracy A New York resident has pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to participating in a fraudulent multimillion-dollar mass-mailing scheme that tricked consumers into paying fees for falsely promised cash prizes. According to court documents, from August 2014 through August 2019, Scott Gammon, 47, of Broad Channel, New York, engaged in...