Tag: Enforcement Actions

SolarWinds

SEC Charges SolarWinds and Its CISO with Fraud, Control Failures

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Austin, Texas-based software company SolarWinds and its chief information security officer, Timothy G. Brown, for fraud and internal control failures relating to allegedly known cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities. The complaint alleges that, from at least its October 2018 initial public offering through Read More

SEC Hits 10 More Financial Firms for Recordkeeping Violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced charges against five broker-dealers, three dually registered broker-dealers and investment advisers, and two investment advisers for widespread failures to maintain and preserve electronic communications and for off-channel communications. The firms admitted the facts set forth in their respective SEC orders and acknowledged that Read More

Bribery and FCPA charges by Clear Channel

SEC Charges Clear Channel with FCPA Violation at China Unit

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Clear Channel Outdoor agreed to pay more than $26 million to resolve the charges that it bribed Chinese government officials to obtain outdoor advertising contracts. The SEC’s Read More

SEC Whistleblower program

SEC Charges CBRE Unit with Wistleblower Protection Violation

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled charges against CBRE Inc., a Dallas-based commercial real estate firm, for using an employee release that violated the SEC’s whistleblower protection rule. CBRE agreed to pay a civil penalty of $375,000 as part of the settlement. According to the SEC’s order, between 2011 Read More

TikTok Logo

TikTok Hit with $368M Fine for Violating Data Privacy of Children

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has fined social media giant TikTok €345 million ($368 million) for violating the privacy of children between the ages of 13 and 17 while processing their data. In its binding decision, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) analyzed the design practices implemented by TikTok Read More

Credit Suisse

Compliance Lessons from Credit Suisse’s $387M Risk Management Failure Penalty

UBS Group has been ordered to pay approximately $387 million in total penalties in a global resolution stemming from significant risk management failures by Credit Suisse related to its relationship with hedge fund Archegos Capital Management, the Federal Reserve Board announced. On July 24, the Federal Reserve Board announced a Read More

CohnReznick Logo

PCAOB Sanctions CohnReznick for Failing to Make Timely Disclosures

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has hit audit firm CohnReznick with a censure and a $20,000 civil penalty for alleged failures to timely disclose disciplinary proceedings brought against the firm by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the PCAOB announced. According to the PCAOB’s disciplinary order, CohnReznick failed to Read More

Window maker View avoids SEC penalties

Window Maker Earns Reprieve by Cooperating with SEC Investigation

View, a California-based maker of “smart” windows for office buildings, has settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to disclose $28 million in projected warranty-related liabilities to address a particular defect in its windows, the SEC announced. The regulatory agency said it decided not to impose any Read More

Biggest Compliance failures

The Most Expensive Financial Compliance Failures of the Last Decade

Just as in any other industry, the financial industry has its fair share of questionable behavior, and then some. For this reason, an alphabet soup of regulatory oversight — and accompanying fines for non-compliance, violations, and even fraud — exist to keep financial institutions in line. Regulatory bodies like the Read More

Gerald Shaw

DoJ Charges Disbarred Attorney Posing as CCO

The Department of Justice announced the arrest of a convicted felon and disbarred attorney for his alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. According to the allegations in the complaint, from its formation around late 2015 until in or about July 2020, Dominion Bank and Trust Company operated as a Read More