Selected Press Releases
SEC Seeks Information to Assess Standards of Conduct and Other Obligations of Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers
03/01/2013
Washington, D.C., March 1, 2013 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today published a request for data and other information to assist the agency in considering whether to make new rules about the standards of conduct and regulatory obligations for broker-dealers and investment advisers when they provide personalized investment advice about securities to retail customers.Read moreChina-Based Company and Former CFO to Pay Penalties for Disclosure and Accounting Violations
02/28/2013
Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2013 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a China-based petrochemical company and its former chief financial officer with accounting and disclosure violations, and they agreed to pay more than $1 million combined to settle the charges.Read moreSEC Charges Virgin Islands-Based Investment Adviser with Defrauding Clients
02/21/2013
Washington, D.C., Feb. 21, 2013 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged an investment adviser located in the U.S. Virgin Islands with defrauding clients from whom he withheld the fact that he was receiving kickbacks for investing their money in thinly-traded companies. When he faced pressure to pay clients their returns on those investments, he allegedly used money from other clients in a Ponzi-like fashion to make payments.Read moreSEC Charges N.Y.-Based Brokerage Firm with Defrauding Investors in a Clean Energy Company to Earn Lucrative Commissions
02/15/2013
Washington, D.C., Feb. 15, 2013 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against a New York-based brokerage firm and two brokers who allegedly used misleading sales tactics to steer investors toward risky investments in a purported clean energy company so the firm could earn lucrative commissions.Read moreSEC Freezes Assets in Swiss-Based Account Used in Suspected Insider Trading Ahead of Heinz Acquisition
02/15/2013
Washington, D.C., Feb. 15, 2013 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today obtained an emergency court order to freeze assets in a Zurich, Switzerland-based trading account that was used to reap more than $1.7 million from trading in advance of yesterday’s public announcement about the acquisition of H.J. Heinz Company.Read more