Doug Cornelius on compliance for private equity real estate
I don’t like compliance officers being dragged into enforcement actions. If they are involved in the wrongdoing or are just a wholesale failure at compliance, I understand why. Elliot Daniloff a/k/a Ilya Olegovich Danilov was the chief compliance officer of ED Capital Management, LLC, and its managing member and owner. The firm was a registered … Read more »
Regulatory actions against compliance officers catch my attention. I don’t think compliance should be the target unless compliance engaged in the wrongdoing. I saw the action against Joseph Storms, identified as a “compliance associate” and dove in. Mr. Storms entered the securities industry as a compliance intern in 2005 with FINRA member firm Raymond James … Read more »
I’ve gotten worked up about CCO liability cases. Many have been sloppy about using consistent standards. A recent case case caught my eye because the CCO was charged because of identity theft. At first I thought the case might be an aggressive position to charge the CCO because a cybersecurity breach resulted in identity theft … Read more »
At a recent event, an official with the Securities and Exchange Commission tried to give some comfort to a room full of compliance officers that the SEC was not trying to saddle compliance officers with potential liability. He pointed us to the opinion in the matter of Thaddeus North. The case was the Commission’s review … Read more »
Enforcement actions by financial regulators can cause compliance professionals to rethink their career choice. In the majority of cases the SEC brings against CCOs, (1) the compliance officers are involved in misconduct that is unrelated to their compliance function or (2) the CCOs have engaged in efforts to obstruct or mislead the investigation. Typically in … Read more »
A few years ago, the SEC had expressed an unwillingness to prosecute CCOs, except in three extreme circumstances: Participating in the wrongdoing Hindering the SEC examination or investigation Wholesale failure Some of the past actions imposing CCO liability have left me uncertain that these are the correct standards. A COO liability case that I missed … Read more »
The SEC’s complaint against Temenos Advisory, Inc. and George L. Taylor paints a very bad picture for the firm and its Chief Compliance Officer. In this case, the CCO is also the CEO, founder and majority owner of Temenos. A few years ago, the SEC had expressed an unwillingness to prosecute CCOs, except in three … Read more »
I was quite bothered by the Osunkwo CCO liability case that, on its face, sanctioned a CCO for misstating a firm’s assets under management. A few years ago, the SEC had expressed an unwillingness to prosecute CCOs, except in three extreme circumstances: Participating in the wrongdoing Hindering the SEC examination or investigation Wholesale failure None of … Read more »
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, David I. Osunkwo failed as a CCO for incorrectly stating the amount of AUM and the number of clients for two affiliated investment advisers. Mr. Osunkwo relied on estimates provided to him by the Chief Investment Officer. For that, he was fined $30,000 and suspended for a year … Read more »
IA Watch produced an informative webinar on CCO Liability. These are my notes. Carl Ayers (Moderator) Publisher, Regulatory Compliance Watch Brian Moran, Executive director and CCO Sterling Capital Management Joseph McGill, J.D., Chief Compliance Officer Lord, Abbett & Co. Kelley Howes, Counsel Morrison Foerster Heidi Vonderheide of Ulmer & Berne LLP First up was Heidi. Her … Read more »