Securities Law and Regulations

SEC Attorney

Published on: June 29, 2023 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

How Can A Skilled SEC Attorney Help You Pursue Damages From Your Broker-Dealer?

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Has Been Fighting For Investors For Over 30 Years

If you believe that you could be the victim of securities fraud, you may want to explore your legal options with a knowledgeable Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawyer who can help you assess the cause of your losses and determine whether you have grounds for a lawsuit against your broker-dealer or investment adviser.

Denver FINRA Attorneys

Published on: March 16, 2023 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Representing Colorado Investors In Their Securities Fraud Lawsuits Against Brokerage Firms

With our securities law office conveniently located in Denver’s North Capitol Hill close to the Central Business District, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (investorlawyers.com) represent investors throughout the region in their FINRA arbitration claims against the brokerage firms and financial advisors responsible for their investment losses. Contact us today to request your free, initial no obligation case assessment.

Entrusting a broker-dealer to save and grow your portfolio is a big decision, and it can be devastating to know that the financial fiduciaries you placed your faith in engaged in negligent or wrongful actions that caused you to lose money. It is why our skilled Denver FINRA lawyers are here to help.

What To Look For When Selecting Securities Fraud Lawyers

Published on: February 7, 2023 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Has Been Fighting for Investor For Over 30 Years

If you are an investor who is looking to recover your portfolio losses that may have been caused by broker fraud or negligence, it is important that you retain the services of knowledgeable Securities Fraud Lawyers that can represent you. But how do you know what to look for when hiring legal representation?

At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (investorlawyers.com) we have been fighting for retail customers, retirees, accredited investors, high-net-worth investors, and institutional investors for over 30 years. Known and well-regarded by our peers and others throughout the industry, we represent clients all over the United States and have collectively recovered many millions of dollars on their behalf.

Securities Litigation Lawyers

Published on: December 30, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

What Can You Expect When You Hire Our Seasoned Securities Litigation Lawyers?

With over 30 years representing investors, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (investorlawyers.com) offer unparalleled experience in securities litigation while providing personalized attention to each of our clients. We work with retail investors, retirees, accredited investors, wealthy investors, and institutional investors that have suffered significant investment losses due to broker negligence or misconduct in pursuing damages from their broker-dealers. Our SEC fraud attorneys have gone up against the largest brokerage firms on Wall Street to secure settlements and win arbitration awards for our clients.

When you retain our services, you gain the insight, skills, and experience of not just one attorney, but of an entire team of knowledgeable securities arbitration lawyers along with skilled staff, including paralegals, legal secretaries, consultants, and assistants. Many of us have previous experience working in other areas of the securities industry, including as account managers and brokers at large Wall Street firms. It is because of what we witnessed in terms of unsavory broker-dealer misconduct and negligence, and how these behaviors harmed investors, that we are now fighting on the side of clients like you. Not only that, but unlike many other securities fraud law firms for which representing investors is just one area of their business, this is our sole area of practice and we’ve been here doing this for a very long time.

Securities Fraud Law Firm

Published on: December 30, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

What Are High-Yield Bonds?

Our Skilled Securities Fraud Law Firm Can Help If You Have Suffered Junk Bond Losses

High-yield bonds, also known as junk bonds, are non-investment grade bonds. They are usually put out by issuers that have been given a low rating by credit rating agencies and are considered at risk of not paying interest or giving back an investor’s principal upon maturity. Examples of potential issuers are former investment-grade companies that are in financial trouble or are too highly leveraged and emerging companies looking for working capital to help with expansion.

Recent Criminal Securities Fraud Cases: Ex-OmniView Capital Advisers CEO is Convicted in $300M Fraud, Jury Finds Former-Wilmington Trust Executives Guilty, and Jury Finds Two Hedge Fund Professionals and a Health Consultant Guilty in Insider Case

Published on: May 5, 2018 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

$300M Stock Scam Allegations Lead to Guilty Verdict

A Brooklyn jury has convicted ex-OmniView Capital Advisors LLC CEO Abraxas J. Discala of conspiracy, wire fraud, and securities fraud in a $300M market rigging scam/ pump-and dump fraud. A second defendant, lawyer Kyleen Cane, was acquitted after initially being charged with conspiracy and securities fraud.

According to prosecutors, the stock fraud occurred from 10/2012 through 7/2014. Trades in four publicly traded companies were reportedly involved.

SECURITIES CASES: YAHOO AGREES TO PAY $35M TO SETTLE CHARGES AND A BIOTECH START UP IS ACCUSED OF ISSUING MISLEADING INFORMATION

Published on: April 26, 2018 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Altaba is Fined $35M For Not Disclosing World’s Largest Data Breach

Altaba, formerly Yahoo! Inc., will pay a $35M penalty in a data breach settlement to resolve US Securities and Exchange Commission charges accusing the entity of misleading investors because it did not disclose a major cyber-security data breach. Despite settling, Yahoo is not denying or admitting to the findings.

The data breach, one of the largest in the world to date, involved Russian hackers stealing personal information involving hundreds of millions of user accounts in 2014. The information that was taken included usernames, birth dates, email addresses, passwords that were encrypted, phone numbers, and both security questions and answers. Yahoo’s information security team found out about the breach soon after it happened.

SEC Adopts Final Rules to Modernize Fund Raising for Intrastate and Regional Offerings, Enhance Information that is Reported by Funds, and Enhance the Effectiveness of Risk Management Programs

Published on: October 27, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The SEC has adopted final rules to modernize the way companies are allowed to raise funds for their businesses via small and intrastate offerings, all the while keeping investor protections in place. The final rules include amendment to Securities Act Rule 147 and a new Securities Act Rule 147A for out-of-state residents and companies organized or incorporated outside the state.

Under the Rule 147A and Securities Act Rule 147 amendments, the current intrastate offering framework, which allows companies to raise funds from investors in their state without having to federally register the sales and offerings, would be modernized. New Rule 147A would differ from Rule 147 in that it would permit out-of-state residents and companies outside the state, or companies that were incorporated outside the state, to access these securities offerings.

There are also now amendments to Regulation D’s Rule 504 that would grant registration exemption for offers and sales as high as $1M of securities within a one-year period, as long as the issuer does not qualify as an Exchange Act reporting company, blank check company, or investment company. The aggregate quantity of securities that could be offered and sold under Rule 504 within any yearlong period would go up from $1M to $5M. Meantime, the new final rules would repeal Rule 505, which allowed for offerings of up to $5M yearly that were sold only to accredited investors or 35 non-accredited investors maximum.

Wine Mogul Accuses Fidelity of Fraud, Seeks up to $500M in FINRA Arbitration

Published on: April 20, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Wine merchant Peter Deutsch has filed a FINRA arbitration claim seeking $400 – $500M from Fidelity. He claims that he might have earned that amount of money if only the financial firm had not stopped him from obtaining a 66% share of a company in which he had already invested $40M. Meantime, Fidelity is contending that it kept Deutsch from trading because of worries that he was attempting to illegally manipulate the company’s shares.

The dispute began when Deutsch sought to purchase at least another 50 million shares of stock in China Medical Technologies in 2012. His investment efforts, however, were barred by Fidelity, which said it was “uncomfortable” with the transaction. It was in 2011 that a sales team from Fidelity Family Office Services (FFOS) had sought Deutsche out to join its group of wealthy clients.

In court papers, Deutsch alleges that while he was trying to gain control of China Medical Technologies, which is a cancer treatment device maker, FFOS was aggressively buying the stock in secret rather than helping him. He also claims that Fidelity used his shares to its benefit even though this was not what he wanted. He believes that the firm blocked him from trading to conceal its wrongdoing.

He is accusing Fidelity of inappropriate share lending. The firm, however, describes its practice of lending out shares belonging to its clients as fully paid lending. According to Bloomberg, sources said that Fidelity, which insists that the arbitration case is without merit, maintains that it didn’t lend out Deutsch’s shares under its lending program but that it used its authority to lend shares out of his margin account. Securities lending is something that Fidelity clients consent to when they set up a margin account.

SEC Regulation News: Commission Proposes Mutual Fund, ETF Liquidity Management Rules, Requests Regulation S-X Comments, and Takes Out Credit Ratings References in Money Market Fund Form and Rule

Published on: October 4, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

SEC to Propose Reforms to Improve Liquidity Management for Open-End Funds
The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose a package of rule reforms to improve effective liquidity risk management for open-end funds, including exchange-traded funds and mutual funds. If approved, both would have to put into place liquidity risk management programs and improve disclosure about liquidity and redemption practices. The hope is that investors will be more able to redeem shares and get assets back in a timely fashion.

The liquidity risk management program of a fund would have to include a number of elements, including classification of the fund portfolio assets liquidity according to how much time an asset could be converted to cash without affecting the market, the review, management, and evaluation of the liquidity risk of a fund, the set up of a fund’s liquidity asset minimum over three days, as well as board review and approval. The proposal also seeks to codify the 15% limit on illiquid assets that are found in SEC guidelines.

Commission Looks for Comment on Regulation S-X
The SEC announced last month that it is looking for public comment regarding the financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-X and their effectiveness. The comments are to focus on form requirements and the content contained in financial disclosure that companies have to submit to the regulator about affiliated entities, businesses acquired, and issuers and guarantors of guaranteed securities.