The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it has reached a settlement with RSE Markets Inc. regarding charges of operating as an unregistered exchange. RSE Markets operated a marketplace and provided facilities that connected buyers and sellers of securities, specifically equity interests in collectible assets like valuable cars and watches. According to the [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken urgent action to put a stop to an alleged Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Nayeem Choudhury, a resident of Durham, North Carolina, and his hedge fund, Dream Venture Capital Group LLC. In a complaint filed with the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, the [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced charges against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and its parent company BAC North America Holding Co. (BACNAH) for their failure to file numerous Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) between 2009 and late 2019. Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay a $6 million penalty to settle the [...]

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has entered a final judgment on consent against Andrew DeFrancesco, the former Chairman of Cool Holdings, Inc., in relation to a scheme involving false statements and omissions in filings with the SEC, as well as a fraudulent pump-and-dump scheme involving Cool Holdings' stock. Two [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken action against Caz L. Craffy, a former U.S. Army financial counselor, charging him with defrauding Gold Star family members and others through unauthorized trading and recommending inappropriate investment strategies. According to the SEC's complaint, Craffy, based in Colts Neck, New Jersey, had the authority to provide general [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it has reached a settlement with View Inc., a California-based manufacturer of "smart" windows, regarding charges of failing to disclose $28 million in projected warranty-related liabilities. The SEC decided not to impose civil penalties on View Inc. due to the company's self-reporting of the misconduct, prompt [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has made an announcement regarding the recent developments in the legal proceedings related to Spartan Trading Company, LLC (Spartan Trading), a fraudulent pooled investment fund. On June 30, 2023, the Honorable Jerry W. Blackwell of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota issued an Order in response [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained final judgments against Empires Consulting Corp. (EmpiresX) and its founders, Emerson Sousa Pires and Flavio Mendes Goncalves, following charges related to a fraudulent trading scheme. As per the SEC's complaint, filed on June 30, 2022, Pires and Goncalves operated EmpiresX, presenting it as a hedge fund that [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken action against Vidul Prakash, the former Chief Financial Officer of View Inc., a California-based manufacturer specializing in "smart" windows. Prakash has been charged by the SEC for his negligent oversight, which resulted in the failure to disclose $28 million in projected warranty-related liabilities. According to the complaint filed [...]