Category: Government Agency Litigation

February 8, 2023

Critical Crypto-Securities Issue May Soon Come to a Head in SEC v. Ripple

This work was originally published in Business Law Today for the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section. A lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple Labs”), creator of the popular cryptocurrency token known as XRP, represents a turning point for the cryptocurrency and wider blockchain-technology industries in their… Read More

December 19, 2022

Eight Finance Social Media Influencers Charged In $100 Million Market Manipulation Scheme

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has announced charges against eight finance-oriented social media influencers in an alleged $100 million securities fraud scheme, in which they engaged in “pump-and-dump” market manipulation by leveraging their following on various social media platforms. The securities fraud charges, unsealed on December 13th, name seven defendants with an eighth… Read More

May 8, 2018

FTC Focuses on Kids’ Geo-Location Devices in Latest COPPA Warnings

A public service announcement of yesteryear posed the following question to parents: “It’s 8:00. Do you know where your children are?” Today’s technology allows parents to answer that question regardless of the time of day. That technology, however, has recently drawn scrutiny for violating the parental notice and consent provisions of the Federal Trade Commission’s… Read More

February 6, 2018

The Extraordinary Reach of FTC Ex Parte

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is granted extraordinary authority to participate in ex parte discussions with judges, conduct investigations and enact enforcement actions like asset freezes and TROs without notice to the parties it is targeting. Often the first time a company learns it is under investigation is when it is served a subpoena and… Read More

February 1, 2018

Assert Your FTC Defense Before It’s Too Late

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is granted extraordinary authority to conduct investigations without giving notice to the companies in its sightlines, and the agency can enact sudden and unforeseen enforcement actions like asset freezes and TROs which take its targets completely by surprise. Often a company’s first clue it is under investigation is when it… Read More

October 25, 2017

Congress Saves Consumer Arbitration

In July 2017, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“CPFB”) announced a new rule broadly barring arbitration provisions in a wide swath of consumer contracts.  See 12 CFR part 1040.  To go into effect next Spring, the final rule would have prohibited providers of certain consumer financial products and services from using an agreement with… Read More