Compliance Bits & Pieces for October 15
These are some compliance-related stories that recently caught my eye: A Mansion, a Lamborghini, and Cocaine in Investor’s Watchdog I often get the question, “How can we spot a financial scamster?” I always answer that, without training, you cannot spot them by sight and that the very best scamsters look just like the face in … Read more »
The Family Office Exemption under the Investment Advisers Act
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act wiped out the exemption enjoyed by most private funds. I’m still waiting to see how the SEC will define a “venture capital fund manager.” In the meantime, the SEC has published its proposed rule defining a “family office” and its exemption from registration under the Investment … Read more »
Rosand Enterprises and Real Estate Fraud
I find looking at fraud cases instructive, seeing common themes, failures and techniques. Since my company is in real estate, real estate fraud catches my eye. Recently the SEC brought a case against Rosand Enterprises and one of its principals, Robert A. Anderson. The Securities and Exchange Commission came in late. The Illinois Secretary of … Read more »
The Corruption of Scott Rothstein
In Miles Away… Worlds Apart, Alan Sakowitz tells the story of the biggest financial fraud in South Florida history, from his unique perspective of a whistleblower. Throughout the book Sakowitz compares his close-knit neighborhood to the Scott Rothstein’s greed. Sakowitz takes us through the narrative of the events leading to the arrest of Scott Rothstein. … Read more »
Enjoy Columbus Day
I’m enjoying Columbus Day. School is closed and the office is closed. The Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World in 1492. The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria Come to the World’s Columbian Exposition During the fair, replicas of the Nina, the Pinta, … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for October 8
Here are some interesting compliance related stories that I’ve run into recently: Birthday Parties Not Enough to Support Inference of Discrimination; Shifting Reasons for Termination Get Case to Jury Though by Dan Schwartz in the Connecticut Employment Law Blog First, beware the birthday parties. They may be good morale boosters but some people may find … Read more »
Save Your Company, Save Yourself
What happens when you have a business disaster on your resume? Maybe listing an Enron or WorldCom would not be so bad. Those companies are big enough that you may not be tainted by the corporate fraud. Unless you ended up in handcuffs. As the company gets smaller, you’re more likely to get caught in … Read more »
Real Estate, China and the FCPA
China is hotbed for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The real estate industry is not immune from the dangers. In February of 2009 Morgan Stanley’s real estate group reported an employee based in China in an overseas real estate subsidiary that appeared to have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. My company has … Read more »
Revoking a Subscription Agreement
Private equity funds investors sign a subscription agreement, promising to deliver cash when the fund makes a capital call. In a recent Delaware case, investors sought to revoke their subscription agreements and recover their capital contribution. They were investors in a Lehman Brothers sponsored investment fund. In 2007 the three plaintiffs became limited partners in … Read more »