Legal Book » securities

SEC Judge Finds Investment Bank GC Was Not Negligent in Supervising Rogue Broker

Master — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:20:16 +0000

The former general counsel of investment bank Ferris, Baker Watts appears to be off the hook after a Securities and Exchange Commission administrative law judge ruled Wednesday that he did not fail to reasonably supervise a rogue broker. While praising the SEC’s “regulatory zeal” in going after Theodore Urban, Administrative Law Judge Brenda Murray wrote that it was not in the public interest to impose sanctions against him.

Jenner & Block, Davis Polk Tapped for General Motors’ IPO

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:36:48 +0000

General Motors filed for its highly anticipated initial public offering on Wednesday, a little more than a year after the company emerged from bankruptcy.

Judge Refuses to Approve Citi’s Landmark $75 Million Subprime Settlement With SEC

Master — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:11:04 +0000

On Monday, Washington, D.C., federal Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, who is overseeing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against Citigroup, refused to approve the proposed settlement, pressed the SEC about the extent of its investigation, and asked how it determined the proposed $75 million penalty. Huvelle said she was “baffled” by the proposed pact, adding, “I look at this and say, ‘Why would I find this fair and reasonable?’ You expect the court to rubber-stamp, but we can’t.”

Messy Divorce Leads to Whistleblower Bounty in Pequot Capital Case

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 05:28:18 +0000

Karen Kaiser made headlines when the federal government gave her a $1 million whistleblower bounty for finding evidence allegedly implicating her ex-husband and his former employer, Pequot Capital Management, in an insider trading case that led to the downfall of the hedge fund.

Confusion Over Similar Names Ends SEC Suit Against BCI Telecom Holding

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:21:54 +0000

What’s in a name? A Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, if you’re not careful. Just ask BCI Telecom Holding Inc

Former Jackson Walker Lawyer Snared in Federal Case Against Wyly Brothers

Master — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:52:31 +0000

Texas billionaire brothers Sam and Charles Wyly, in denying Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that they hid $550 million in trading profits via a maze of offshore trusts and other entities, are pointing at the advice they received from lawyers and financial advisers, according to reports. So, who were the go-to lawyers for the Wylys? Chief among them was Michael French, whom the SEC has also charged with helping the brothers set up the offshore trusts through which they made the trades in question.

General Electric Settles Iraq Bribery Case With SEC

Master — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 06:21:30 +0000

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday reached a $23.4 million settlement with General Electric over charges the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. GE, along with two subsidiaries and two other companies that have since been acquired by GE, allegedly made illegal kickbacks totaling $3.6 million in the form of cash, computer equipment, medical supplies and services to the Iraqi Health Ministry or the Iraqi Oil Ministry in order to obtain contracts under the U.N

Lehman Legal Fees Approaching $400 Million

Master — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:58:00 +0000

Just how much are bankruptcy lawyers and advisers making in the ongoing Lehman Brothers bankruptcy? Bloomberg reports that the $873.1 million in fees billed since the beginning of the case would quadruple the annual payroll of the New York Yankees

Bank of America Admits to ‘Dollar Rolling’ $10 Billion in Debt

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:11:21 +0000

Bank of America Corp.

2nd Circuit Panel Probes Ruling on Wiretap Discovery in SEC Case

Master — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 04:43:02 +0000

A judge’s order that defendants in a civil insider trading case turn over to the Securities and Exchange Commission wiretaps they obtained in discovery in their criminal case came under fire Thursday at the 2nd Circuit. A lawyer for Raj Rajaratnam and Danielle Chiesi, central figures in a wide-ranging insider trading prosecution that has already netted 11 guilty pleas, asked a three-judge panel to reverse New York federal Judge Jed Rakoff’s February order compelling production of the wiretaps.

Technip Resolves FCPA Probe, Agrees to Pay $240 Million Fine

Master — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 05:12:04 +0000

Paris-based Technip SA, a service company for the oil and gas industry, is paying $338 million in civil and criminal penalties to settle claims that it worked with former Halliburton subsidiary KBR to bribe Nigerian officials and win $6 billion in contracts. The $338 million figure includes a $240 million criminal fine, plus a disgorgement of $98 million to resolve civil claims made by the Securities and Exchange Commission

SEC to Pay $755K to Staff Attorney Fired Over Pequot Case

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:28:09 +0000

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into Pequot Capital Management, the once-giant hedge fund, did not exactly go smoothly for the agency, and the saga reached a new low for the SEC on Tuesday: The agency has agreed to pay a former staff attorney, Gary Aguirre, $755,000 to settle his claims that the agency wrongly fired him in retaliation for his complaints that higher-ups were botching the Pequot case in 2005 and 2006.

SEC Accuses Money Manager of Fraud Tied to Housing Bust

Master — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 07:10:44 +0000

The government has opened a new front in its probe of financial firms’ dealings in the mortgage market, filing civil fraud charges Monday against an investment adviser and his firm in connection with complex securities during the 2007 housing bust. The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Thomas Priore and ICP Asset Management of fraudulently managing the securities in a way that cost investors tens of millions of dollars and improperly reaped millions in fees and undisclosed profits at the expense of clients.

Former CEO of KLA-Tencor Settles Most SEC Backdating Charges

Master — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 04:37:32 +0000

One of the longest-running fights waged by the Securities and Exchange Commission over stock option backdating has settled. Former KLA-Tencor CEO Kenneth Schroeder has agreed to pay a $275,000 fine to resolve allegations that he ignored the advice of lawyers and backdated stock options, including his own. Still unresolved is whether Schroeder will be prohibited from serving in the future as an officer or director at a publicly traded company.

SEC Suspends Former McKesson General Counsel

Master — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:41:46 +0000

A former McKesson general counsel has been stripped of his right to practice before the Securities and Exchange Commission for five years as part of a civil settlement resolving charges that he participated in financial reporting fraud. Jay Lapine allegedly took part in a scheme to inflate the revenue and net income of HBO & Co., a health care technology provider that merged with McKesson in 1999.

Forum Appeal Denied Over New Jersey Pension Fund’s $180 Million Investment in Lehman

Master — Fri, 21 May 2010 09:53:00 +0000

Litigation over the New Jersey pension fund’s purchase of $180 million in Lehman stock shortly before the company’s bankruptcy filing will stay in federal court. The 3rd Circuit this week refused to hear the state’s appeal from removal, basing its ruling on jurisdictional grounds, rather than deciding an open question in the circuit: whether the securities law’s prohibition against removal trumps the bankruptcy code, which allows it.

Justice Department Opens Criminal Probe of Goldman

Master — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:35:33 +0000

Justice Department Opens Criminal Probe of Goldman

Master — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:35:33 +0000

Stepping up the pressure on Goldman Sachs just days after its executives were grilled and publicly rebuked by lawmakers, the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of the Wall Street powerhouse over mortgage securities deals it arranged. The investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan stems from a criminal referral by the Securities and Exchange Commission, said a knowledgeable person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the inquiry is in a preliminary phase.

Mayer Brown Not Liable for Losses of Refco Investors, 2nd Circuit Decides

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 08:32:26 +0000

Secondary actors such as attorneys can only be held liable for false statements in private damages actions under the securities laws if the statements are attributable to them at the time they are disseminated, a federal appeals court decided Tuesday. Ruling in a civil suit brought against Mayer Brown and former partner and now prison inmate Joseph Collins in connection with the Refco securities fraud and financial meltdown, the 2nd Circuit rejected civil liability for both.

Was Goldman Sachs GC’s Talk With Investors a Mistake?

Master — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 07:44:15 +0000

When Goldman Sachs put general counsel Gregory Palm on a conference call with investors last week to talk about a fraud suit, some corporate counsel quivered. Palm answered investors’ questions and tried to reassure them about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s suit filed against the company

Investors to Goldman Sachs: Anything You’d Like to Tell Us?

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:55:37 +0000

Now that keeping secrets about an investor has gotten Goldman Sachs in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a new disclosure issue has come up. The question is: Why didn’t Goldman tell its investors that it was being investigated by the feds?

SEC Accuses Goldman Sachs of Fraud on Mortgage Deals

admin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:26:16 +0000

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday leveled fraud charges against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and one of its vice presidents for misleading investors.

Plaintiffs Seek to Revive Holland & Knight Ponzi Suit

Master — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:33:07 +0000

Investors are asking a Florida federal judge to reconsider her dismissal of a class action filed against Holland & Knight for alleged negligence tied to an investment adviser accused of running a $400 million Ponzi scheme. The investors asked the judge to reconsider based on a recent ruling in a similar New York case, which their lawyer says should carve out an exception for some hedge fund suits in federal court even when the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act does not apply.

Ex-Maxim CFO Blames Dead Boss at SEC Backdating Trial

Master — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:08:13 +0000

Latham & Watkins partner Steven Bauer told a San Jose, Calif., jury in opening statements Tuesday that his client Carl Jasper shouldn’t be blamed for backdating options at Maxim Integrated Products. Instead, he argued, the fault lies six feet under with John Gifford, the founder and CEO of Maxim who died of a heart attack in January 2009

Released From Prison, Lerach to Speak at Law School Panel

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:21:13 +0000

Fresh out of prison, disgraced securities plaintiffs attorney Bill Lerach has returned to the public light.