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
Appeals Court Set to Consider Key Sentencing Issue on Profits Derived From Fraud
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit is currently considering a sentencing issue of great significance in cases in which a number of individuals work together to bring about a financial fraud. The question posed is the extent to which a defendant can and/or should be punished based on the profits made through… Read More
SEC ‘Likes’ Public Company Disclosures on Facebook and Other Social Media
Last December, we wrote about the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s issuance of so-called “Wells” notices indicating that the agency was considering whether to bring enforcement proceedings against Netflix and its CEO, Reed Hastings. The SEC’s ire was aroused by a posting by Hastings on his personal Facebook page about Netflix’s success. The agency… Read More
Did Netflix’s Facebook Posting Disclose Too Much — to Too Few?
People these days use Facebook to tell their “friends” about all kinds of things – a favorite TV show, a political bent, a new relationship and all kinds of other details about their lives. But recent enforcement action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should make clear to corporate officers and boards that Facebook… Read More
Judge Rakoff and the Emperor’s New Clothes
On October 24, 2012, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff sentenced Rajat Gupta to 24 months after he was found guilty by a jury of one count of conspiracy and three counts of substantive securities fraud, in connection with providing material non-public information to convicted inside trader Raj Rajratnam. This two-year prison sentence was substantially below… Read More
Insider Trading Defendant’s Decision to Take the Stand Doesn’t Prevent Conviction
In electing to testify in his own defense at his federal criminal trial for insider trading, hedge fund operator Doug Whitman made a decision that no other defendants in similar recent prosecutions had chosen. He was still convicted on all counts by a jury, just as were the other defendants who did not take the… Read More
Executive’s Internet Searches Give SEC the Road Map to Make an Arrest
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged an executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb with insider trading, citing his Internet searches as support that he tried to cover up his illegal acts. As a high-level executive in the treasury department at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Robert D. Ramnarine helped the company target, evaluate, and acquire other pharmaceutical companies…. Read More
Judge Clamps Down on DOJ Efforts to Apply U.S. Law Abroad
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent boasts about rigorous enforcement of the securities laws ran into a significant obstacle this month when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., dismissed part of a $50 million securities fraud case and accused DOJ prosecutors of overreaching. In an increasingly global economy, the case is a good measure of… Read More
Appellate Court Casts Doubt on Acceptability of ‘Obey-the Law’ Injunctions
We recently blogged about the recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Goble, 2012 WL 1918819 (11th Cir. May 29, 2012). There, we discussed the appeals court’s limitation on the reach of the concept of “securities fraud” under Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act… Read More
After Gupta’s Conviction, What’s Next For Insider Trading Law?
Yet another shoe has dropped in the long-running investigation and the series of prosecutions arising from allegations of insider trading in the stocks of Goldman Sachs and other companies. In May 2011, Raj Rajaratnam was convicted of insider trading and ultimately sentenced to 11 years in prison. On June 15, 2012, Rajat Gupta, a former… Read More
