By Daniel Portnov This post kicks off a series for non-lawyers, or non-securities lawyers, who might suddenly find themselves on the wrong end of an SEC document request, subpoena or call from SEC Enforcement division staff. Receiving a call from SEC Enforcement...
By Daniel Portnov It’s been a busy 2018 for cryptocurrency enforcement by the SEC. Following statements by Chair Jay Clayton and Co-Director of Enforcement Stephanie Avakian announcing various cryptocurrency concerns, sweeps and initiatives,[1] several recent...
By Dan Portnov Last week I had the pleasure of attending a reception featuring SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson, who spoke about FinTech, ICOs and crypto-assets. Jackson’s prepared comments and subsequent Q&A session were a rare look into one Commissioner’s...
By Dan Portnov Yesterday, the Supreme Court decided Lucia v. SEC, holding that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s five-member commission must appoint the agency’s Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”), as these in-house judges are “inferior officers” under the...
By Dan Portnov Late last week the other shoe finally dropped for Theranos founder and ex-CEO Elizabeth Holmes, as she and fellow executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani were indicted on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Following allegations...
By: Sara Kropf I’ve written about vented several times (see here and here) about DOJ’s practice of leaving press releases announcing indictments on its website even after the defendant has been acquitted of the charges or after the charges have been dismissed. DOJ's...
By: Sara Kropf I’ve written before about the fundamental unfairness of the Department of Justice’s practice of issuing press releases touting indictments but not issuing press releases when the charges are dismissed or the defendant acquitted. It looks like the SEC...