Tag: SEC

SEC Sets Record Year in Enforcement with $8.2 Billion in Fines

T he Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it filed 583 total enforcement actions in fiscal year 2024, while obtaining orders for $8.2 billion in financial remedies, the highest amount in SEC history. That record amount consisted of $6.1 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, also the highest amount on Read More

Investco fined for misleading ESG reporting

SEC Fines Invesco Advisers $17.5M for Misleading ESG Statements

I nvesco Advisers is paying the price for misleading clients and investors about how much of its assets were truly aligned with environmental, social, and governance principles. The Atlanta-based investment firm has agreed to pay a $17.5 million civil penalty to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission’s charges that it Read More

Cybersecurity Breach

SEC Charges Four Companies With Misleading Cyber Disclosures

T he Securities and Exchange Commission has charged four public companies with making materially misleading disclosures regarding cybersecurity risks and intrusions. The charges against the four companies—Unisys, Avaya, Check Point Software, and Mimecast—result from an investigation involving public companies impacted by the compromise of SolarWinds’ Orion software. The SEC also Read More

SEC examination Priorities

SEC Issues It’s List of 2025 Examination Priorities

T he Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations has released its 2025 examination priorities. This year’s examinations will prioritize perennial and emerging risk areas, such as fiduciary duty, standards of conduct, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. For fiscal year 2025, in addition to conducting examinations in core areas such as Read More

SEC Cyber Reporting

Equiniti Trust Penalized by SEC for Failing to Protect Client Assets from Cyber Theft

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it settled charges against New York-based registered transfer agent Equiniti Trust Company LLC, , for failing to assure that client securities and funds were protected against theft or misuse. Those failures led to the loss of more than $6.6 million of client funds Read More

Supreme Court Ruling on HB20

SEC and CFTC Fine Firms $474 million for Recordkeeping violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that they collected $474 million in fines from broker-dealers and investment advisers for widespread and longstanding failures by the firms and their employees to maintain and preserve text messages and other electronic communications. The SEC announced that the Read More

RTX Sets Aside $1.2B for Anticipated Improper Payment Claims

In its financial filing, RTX Corp announced that it is setting aside $1.2 billion in order to satisfy expected deferred prosecution agreements with the Department of Justice and Securities Exchange commission. These anticipated agreements arise from allegations that the aerospace and defense company made numerous improper payments tied to contracts Read More

SEC seal

SEC Launches Cross-Agency Enforcement Council

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement launched the Interagency Securities Council (ISC), which will enable federal, state, and local regulatory and law enforcement professionals to meet quarterly to discuss the latest in scams, trends, frauds, and mitigation strategies. The ISC’s objective is to strengthen the cohesion between federal, Read More

SEC seal

Supreme Court Curtails SEC’s Use of In-House Tribunals for Civil Penalties

In a landmark case, the Supreme Court has struck down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s authority to use in house-tribunals when seeking civil penalties against those accused of securities fraud. The Court, in the case of SEC v. Jarksey, ruled that when the SEC seeks civil penalties from defendants for Read More

Silvergate logo image

Silvergate Settles SEC Charges for Compliance Failures

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Silvergate Capital, its former CEO Alan Lane, and former Chief Risk Officer Kathleen Fraher with misleading investors about the strength of the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance program and the monitoring of crypto customers, including FTX. The SEC also charged Silvergate and its Read More