A Blog About Current Issues in White Collar Defense
For many years, it has been the federal government, with its multitude of prosecutorial and regulatory arms, that has been able to throw its policing weight around, causing business owners to snap to attention with a crisp salute. But as the traditional business model has morphed into clouds of technology-driven, international and multinational enterprises, this “cop” may have met his match.
Amidst all of the Mueller probe, Rosenstein White House walks and Judge Kavanaugh drama there was a little-reported, but potentially blockbuster, meeting that took place in the nation’s capital. On Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and a group of state Attorneys General met to discuss their issues with Silicon Valley. The topics of the meeting almost perfectly reflect the daunting issues facing law enforcement in a world of multinational, web-dependent, corporate goliaths.
It appears that AG Sessions was frustrated by reports that industry giants like Google and Twitter, for example, are suppressing or at least incidentally excluding conservative speech on... Read more
National Media Turns to Jim Trusty for Authoritative Opinions on the Country’s Most Important Investigations and Prosecutions
Ifrah Law partner Jim Trusty has become a staple in the national news lately: he is frequently asked to comment on the many investigations and prosecutions currently going on which involve former and current officials and operatives at the highest levels of government. With over 28 years of experience as a federal prosecutor with the… Read More
ICOs Involving Non-Issued Cryptocurrency May Be Prosecuted Under Federal Securities Laws
This week, a federal district court in New York was the first to decide that federal securities laws may be used to prosecute fraud involving cryptocurrencies. In United States v. Zaslavskiy, Eastern District Judge Raymond Dearie held that the Securities Exchange Act of 1933 (“Exchange Act”) and Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) are broad… Read More
The SEC has strongly indicated that initial coin offerings (ICOs) will be treated as securities, and thus must comply with various registration and disclosure requirements before being used to raise capital. Companies do have, however, several options for possible exemptions from the regulatory requirements that apply to registered public offerings. This chart outlines potential exemptions… Read More
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will be arguing before the Supreme Court today for the first time in his nearly thirty-year government career even as rumors abound that Donald Trump is talking about firing him to cut off investigations into his administration’s Russia ties. Although the United States is usually represented before the Supreme… Read More
Following on the heels of the SEC’s announcement of subpoenas to crypto exchanges and token issuers, yesterday New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced “the Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative,” which he described as “a fact-finding inquiry into the policies and practices of platforms used by consumers to trade virtual or ‘crypto’ currencies like bitcoin and… Read More
Congress Passes the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017
As of March 21, 2018, both chambers of Congress have approved H.R. 1865—the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (FOSTA). In a rare show of bipartisanship, both Houses approved the bill with veto-proof majorities—the House by a vote of 388 to 25 and the Senate by a vote of… Read More
As previewed in our previous post, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) unanimously approved new cybersecurity interpretive guidance—a format used to clarify the SEC’s views on security laws and regulations—on Wednesday of last week. The guidelines make no mention of how they affect and interplay with other regulators’ data privacy requirements, so whether… Read More
If ICOs are Securities: What Cryptocurrency Issuers, Exchanges and Gatekeepers Need to Know.
As predicted, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken additional steps to clamp down on the exploding ICO market: yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported the agency had issued “dozens of subpoenas and information requests to technology companies and advisors.” After repeated warnings from regulators like SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, the SEC is now sending… Read More
When a company suffers a data breach, it is hit with a barrage of issues. For instance, How can it safeguard against another breach? Who should it notify of the breach and when (Authorities? The people whose data was compromised?)? What type of measures should it undertake to minimize possible damage to those whose data… Read More
