These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Private Fund Advisers Must Pay Close Attention to Nuances under Pay-to-Play Restrictions in Light of Upcoming Elections Nationwide As the elections approach nationwide, advisers to private investment funds with current or prospective state or local government entity investors should be mindful of political … Read more »
When Is Fraud Just A Breach Of Contract?
If you are going to originate some shady mortgages, maybe you shouldn’t nickname the program the “hustle.” If you package up the mortgages and sell them as good mortgages, it would seem you are committing fraud. But maybe not. It may come as no surprise that the company running the “hustle” was Countrywide. According to … Read more »
SEC Brings Another Private Equity Fund Fee Case
Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of sun, truth, healing, and poetry, and more in classical Greek and Roman mythology. It’s namesake private equity firm has settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was less than truthful in disclosing fees charged to investors. The main thrust of the Apollo case … Read more »
Weekend Reading: Rise of the Warrior Cop
It only takes a few minutes of watching the national news before you will see a crime story with police dressed in battle gear. In Rise of the Warrior Cop, Radley Balko traces the history of US law enforcement to see how we got to this. Mr. Balko thinks the founding fathers, distrustful of a standing … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for August 19
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Anti-Corruption Laws and Other International Risks – What it Means for the Real Estate Industry and How to Protect against Risks by Ropes & Gray The real estate industry is commonly viewed to be higher risk in light of the numerous government touch … Read more »
So Many Wrongs…
I tripped across an enforcement case that was so full of wrong things that I had to re-read it. In one sense, I saw a clever way to exploit an investment feature. On the other hand, the whole investment felt morally wrong, was deceptive and violated at least one important rule under the Investment Advisers … Read more »
A Pair Of Pharma Insider Trading Cases
Pharmaceutical company stock is known to be volatile depending on success or failure of drug trials. As pharma companies become successful they become targets for larger pharma companies looking to supplement their lines. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed two actions recently for suspect trading in pharma companies. The first case is a bread and … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for August 12
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. They caught my attention after completion of my Pan-Mass Challenge ride last weekend. (Even though the ride is over, there is still time to donate: http://profile.pmc.org/DC0176.) This is the team photo taken on Saturday afternoon. Compliance Careers Looking Good, Mostly by Matt Kelly in … Read more »
Whistleblowers Power Up
Two whistleblower stories caught my attention. Both are follow-ups to previous stories. The Securities and Exchange Commission previously announced that it thought poorly of severance agreements that restricted the former employees from being whistleblowers. Last year, the SEC brought an action against KBR for restrictive employee agreements that stifled whistleblowing. That was in the context … Read more »
SEC’s In-House Courts Are Upheld
There have been several challenges to the constitutionality of the in-house judges at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The problem is that the judges are appointed by an internal panel instead of by the President or the SEC Commissioners. That will not make a difference for Raymond Lucia and his “Buckets of Money.” Radio personality … Read more »