Month: March 2023

SEC: Vale to Pay $56M for Misleading Disclosures Over Dam Safety

Brazilian mining company Vale has reached a $56 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve charges for allegedly making “false and misleading disclosures about the safety of its dams,” the SEC announced. In January 2019, Vale’s Brumadinho dam collapsed, killing 270 people, and “causing immeasurable environmental and Read More

Labcorp to Pay $2.1M for Allegedly Overbilling Department of Defense

Labcorp, a U.S. healthcare company, has agreed to a $2.1 million settlement with the U.S. government to resolve allegations that it overbilled the Department of Defense (DoD) for genetic tests performed by GeneDx, LLC, a third-party reference laboratory used by Labcorp to perform genetic tests for military members, the DoJ Read More

PCAOB

PCAOB Fines Friedman $100K for Improper Use of Chinese Audit Firms

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced that it has censured Friedman, a New York-based accounting firm, and imposed a $100,000 civil penalty for the firm’s failure to reasonably supervise two unregistered Chinese firms in audits of 12 different public companies with operations in China. Friedman consented to the Read More

PCAOB's Robert Rice

PCAOB Names Rice Head of Enforcement and Investigations

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced the appointment of Robert Rice as director of the Division of Enforcement and Investigations (DEI), effective March 31. Rice assumes the role from Mark Adler, who is retiring. Adler has served as DEI’s acting director since September 2022 and previously held several Read More

Coinbase Takes SEC to Task for Wells Notice, Asks for Rulemaking

The Securities and Exchange Commission on March 22 served Coinbase with a “Wells Notice,” which the company said regards “an unspecified portion of our listed digital assets, our staking service Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime, and Coinbase Wallet after a cursory investigation.” The SEC issues a Wells Notice when it wants Read More

US Capital Building

President Biden to Congress: ‘Tougher Penalties’ Needed for Bank Executives

In the aftermath of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), President Joe Biden is calling on Congress “to impose tougher penalties for senior bank executives whose mismanagement contributed to their institutions failing.” In a March 17 statement, President Biden said he is “firmly committed to accountability for those responsible Read More

Financial reporting

Tupperware Lifts the Lid on Previously Sealed Financial Misstatements

Tupperware Brands, a consumer products company, disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has identified several financial statements that were “materially misstated” that have given rise to a restatement of previously issued financial statements. In a March 16 press release, Tupperware Brands said, “for fiscal years 2020 to 2022, in Read More

SEC seal

SEC Seeks to Amend Reg S-P to Enhance Protection of Customer Information

The Securities and Exchange Commission has published a proposed rule to amend Regulation S-P to require broker-dealers, investment companies, registered investment advisers, and transfer agents to notify individuals affected by certain types of data breaches that may put them at risk of harm, the SEC announced. Regulation S-P, a regulation Read More

Carrie Tolstedt Pleads Guilty Over Wells Fargo’s Fake Account Scandal

Carrie Tolstedt, former head of Wells Fargo Bank’s retail banking division, has agreed to plead guilty to obstructing a government examination into the bank’s widespread sales practices misconduct, including opening millions of unauthorized accounts, federal authorities announced. In a plea agreement filed March 15 in U.S. District Court, Tolstedt pled Read More