The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently ratcheted up enforcement of insider trading cases, announcing investigations against ten people in four different cases in July. The headline-grabbing case involves a former Coinbase manager, his brother, and a friend alleging a scheme to trade the cryptocurrency ahead of announcements that crypto assets…
We hear about securities fraud when a big case comes along. Hollywood often mythologizes the topic in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street. But these headline-grabbing stories don’t tell the full story. Companies are often under immense pressure to meet market expectations. On the Bloomberg Law podcast, UCLA Law School…
When the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warns investors of types of investment scams—such as boiler room and Ponzi schemes—the agency routinely mentions the high-pressure aggressive sales tactics scammers rely on to help defraud their customers. So let’s look at some techniques that fraudsters are using: It’s A Once-In-A-Lifetime Offer!…
As reported in the Wall Street Journal, employees of tech companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are increasingly coming forward to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These employees-turned-SEC whistleblowers are explaining how their companies are overpromising and underdelivering or otherwise violating the federal securities laws. In some cases, SEC…
In recent years, many investors have been looking for new ways to invest. One way funds have been doing that is by pooling a type of asset or debt into an investment fund. Ownership of the pool is sold as shares, with profits to be allocated between the shareholders if…
The SEC recently announced two amendments to their Whistleblower program rules that will make coming forward a little more lucrative for interested individuals. The first amendment to Rule 21F-3 allows the SEC to pay bounties to whistleblowers for actions brought by other federal agencies. This is particularly helpful when the…
Once again, two SEC whistleblowers will receive bounties through the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, following a successful enforcement action. The first SEC whistleblower receives $13 million after voluntarily providing information that initiated the investigation. They notified SEC staff of the firm’s “abusive practices” for several years prior to the…
In this blog, we often discuss the financial bounties that whistleblowers receive from the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and occasionally, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC.) What isn’t always discussed is the time and effort that it takes for a whistleblower to get to that point. Recently the…
Scott Silver and David Chase were selected as top-rated securities litigation attorneys by Super Lawyers for 2022. Scott received the same award in 2021, and was previously selected for Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars list. David Chase was selected to Super Lawyers for years 2006-2007, 2009-2019, and 2021-2022. Scott and David…
In a recent press release, the SEC announced that it has awarded an individual a bounty of $17 million for their assistance as a whistleblower. The individual provided information that led to the SEC opening an investigation. Additionally, the individual gave continued assistance to SEC staff, speaking with them on…