May 2025 SEC Updates

1. On May 28, 2025, the SEC charged Kronus Financial Corporation and Finser International Corporation, along with their principal, Andrew Jacobus, for misappropriating over $17 million from 40 advisory clients, most of whom are Venezuelan nationals and include Catholic dioceses and elderly individuals. Jacobus raised approximately $39.7 million from advisory clients who believed they were investing … Read More

April 2025 SEC Updates

1. On April 29, 2025, the SEC charged Kenneth Alexander, Robert Welsh and Caedrynn Conner for operating a Ponzi scheme that raised at least $91 million from more than 200 investors.  Defendants falsely represented that investors would receive twelve guaranteed monthly payments of between 3% and 6% per month with the principal investment to be … Read More

March 2025 SEC Updates

1. On March 27, 2025, the Senate banking committee held a confirmation hearing for Paul Atkins, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atkins is expected to advocate for focusing on enforcement cases that affect investors and on crypto-friendly policies.  https://www.banking.senate.gov/hearings/03/20/2025/nomination-hearing and https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/atkins_testimony_3-27-25.pdf 2. On March 27, 2025, the SEC filed … Read More

February 2025 SEC Updates

1. On March 3, 2025, Reuters reported that the SEC is offering some employees $50,000 if they choose to resign or to retire under an early retirement program, according to an agency memo. The SEC and other federal agencies have been looking at ways to cut staff and costs to meet demands from President Donald … Read More

December 2024 SEC Updates

1. On January 2, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department’s final rule will go into effect that prohibits all U.S. persons from engaging in certain transactions involving technologies and products in China that pose a national security threat to the United States.  Covered technologies fall into three categories: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and artificial … Read More

November 2024 SEC Updates

1. On November 27, 2024, the SEC announced that it updated its list of unregistered entities that use misleading information to solicit primarily non-U.S. investors, adding 14 soliciting entities, two impersonators of genuine firms, and four bogus regulators. The SEC’s list of soliciting entities that have been the subject of investor complaints, known as the Public … Read More

October 2024 SEC Updates

1. On October 31, 2024, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (“JP Morgan”), a registered investment adviser, for engaging in or caused 65 prohibited principal trades with a combined notional value of approximately $8.2 billion and which included approximately $22,000 in spreads. To conduct these trades, a JP Morgan portfolio … Read More

September 2024 SEC Updates

1. On September 27, 2024, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against Moloney Securities Co., Inc. (“Moloney”), Donald Hancock (“Hancock”), David La Grange (“La Grange”), and Laura Barnes (“Barnes”) who failed to comply with Regulation Best Interest (“Regulation BI”) in connection with recommendations of corporate bonds called “L Bonds” offered by GWG Holdings, Inc. (“GWG”) to … Read More

August 2024 SEC Updates

1. On August 30, 2024, the SEC charged Wisdom Capital Management Group Ltd. (“Wisdom”) for making material misrepresentations and unsubstantiated statements in SEC Form ADV regarding Wisdom’s organization, office location, assets under management and clients. Wisdom failed to respond to requests to provide records to substantiate the information on the Form ADV.  This matter is … Read More