The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission urged a federal judge on Wednesday to appoint a trustee to manage the Woodbridge Group of Companies, a bankrupt property developer the regulator accused of being a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. Woodbridge filed for bankruptcy in December and weeks later the SEC sued to freeze its assets, accusing it […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced administrative proceedings against New York-based brokerage firm Windsor Street Capital and its former anti-money laundering officer John D. Telfer.  The SEC’s Enforcement Division alleges that the firm, formerly named Meyers Associates L.P., failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for $24.8 million in suspicious transactions, including those occurring […]

The SEC have Charged Two Former Och-Ziff Executives With FCPA Violations, and in doing so, it is claimed that Jersey, Guernsey and Maltese entities were used in Libyan government bribes. The following is shown in the SEC complaint:- Agent 1 also used portions of the $2.25 million installments to direct payments to Libyan Government Official […]

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION – Litigation Release No. 23567 / June 13, 2016 – Securities and Exchange Commission v. Providence Financial Investments, Inc., Providence Fixed Income Fund, LLC, Jeffory Churchfield, and Jack Jarrell, Civil Action No. 0:16-cv-1877 WMW-FLN (D. Minn. filed June 7, 2016) On June 7, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against several alleged perpetrators behind a $78 million pump-and-dump scheme involving the stock of Jammin’ Java, a company that operates as Marley Coffee and uses trademarks of late reggae artist Bob Marley to sell coffee products. The SEC alleges that Jammin Java’s former CEO Shane Whittle […]

Why you must develop a response to cyber security and financial crime threats A recent SEC action has highlighted how concerned regulators have become about data intrusion risks in the asset management sector. Last month the Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges with an investment adviser R.T. Jones Capital Equities Management that the regulator alleged […]

Compliance officers are gatekeepers. They guard the integrity of the markets. They have a hard job and need to be protected. But with that special standing comes something else – Accountability. These days the SEC along with other regulators (see Jersey https://archive.comsuregroup.com/news/stm-fiduciaire/ ) is holding compliance officers (and similar roles e.g. MLRO) to a higher […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced an award Wednesday of about $1.5 million to a compliance professional who provided information for an enforcement action against the whistleblower’s company. The award went to a compliance officer “who had a reasonable basis to believe that disclosure to the SEC was necessary to prevent imminent misconduct from causing […]