Eversheds Sutherland Continues Litigation Growth with Addition of Securities Enforcement Partner Ellen Connell | Firm News
Eversheds Sutherland announced that Ellen Connell has joined its Litigation Practice Group as a partner, bolstering the firm’s securities enforcement capabilities. Based in Washington, DC, Connell will focus on complex, high‑stakes regulatory investigations. The hire expands the firm’s global investigations bench and underscores a strategic push into sophisticated litigation matters. This addition reflects Eversheds’ commitment to growing its litigation platform in a competitive market.
SEC, Apex Spar Over Off-Channel Communications Sweep Settlement
A Texas broker‑dealer, Apex Clearing Corp., told a Fifth Circuit appeals court that the SEC imposed harsher settlement terms on it than on other firms targeted in the agency’s Biden‑era crackdown on off‑channel communications. The SEC denied Apex’s request to...
Prediction Markets, Insider Trading, and the Return of First Principles — Anderson Insights
On February 25, 2026 the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement issued Advisory No. 9185-26 after two enforcement actions against KalshiEX for misuse of nonpublic information and fraud in event contracts. The advisory clarifies that insider‑trading principles rooted in misappropriation theory apply...
How ‘Tipper X’ Helped Bring Down Wall Street’s Insider Trading
The FBI’s Operation Perfect Hedge used hedge‑fund manager Tom Hardin, known as “Tipper X,” as a covert informant to infiltrate a sophisticated insider‑trading network. Hardin was instructed to abort meetings if suspects altered plans, but he persisted, even attending a...
Ex-Moelis Banker to Plead Guilty in Global Insider Trading Case – Bloomberg
Former Moelis & Co. investment banker Benjamin Taylor will travel from France to the United States to plead guilty to providing confidential deal information to a multinational insider‑trading network. The ring, uncovered in a 2019 indictment, operated across the US,...
SEC V. Morocoin and the ‘Schrödinger’s Asset’ Dilemma – McGuireWoods
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Morocoin Tech Corp., three investment clubs and four crypto‑trading platforms, accusing them of a fraudulent token offering that promised outsized returns and left retail investors empty‑handed. The complaint highlights a novel legal question: whether...
Venture Fraud | NBER
The NBER study compiled the first large‑scale dataset of 614 U.S. venture‑capital‑backed startups that faced fraud charges since 2000. It shows VC‑backed firms are 54% more likely to be charged with fraud than comparable non‑VC firms in a public‑company subsample....
SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgment as to Senior Executive of Brazilian Company Charged with Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission secured a final consent judgment against Fernando Passos, former executive vice president of finance and investor relations at IRB Brasil Resseguros. Passos allegedly fabricated a press release and shareholder list claiming Berkshire Hathaway had...
Florida Man Arrested in Alleged $328M Crypto Ponzi Scheme
Federal prosecutors announced the arrest of Christopher Alexander Delgado, a 34‑year‑old from Apopka, Florida, accused of orchestrating what may be the largest crypto‑linked Ponzi scheme in U.S. history. Authorities allege Delgado siphoned roughly $328 million from investors through fraudulent cryptocurrency offerings....
A Long-Overdue Reform: The SEC’s New “Open Jacket” Disclosure Policy
The SEC has introduced Section 2.3 of its new Enforcement Manual, requiring staff to disclose any salient, probative evidence to recipients of Wells notices, subject to confidentiality limits. This “open jacket” policy obligates the agency to be forthcoming about the investigative...
Wall Street Cop Jay Clayton Says Self-Reporting Firms Can Avoid Prosecution – Bloomberg
Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton announced a new self‑reporting program that lets companies avoid criminal prosecution if they promptly disclose fraud or market‑integrity violations. Eligible firms must fully cooperate with investigators, commit to three years of ongoing disclosure, and compensate...
Former Lottery.com Execs Get Civil Penalties in SEC Fraud Case
Two former Lottery.com executives, CFO Ryan Dickinson and CRO Matthew Clemenson, pleaded guilty to securities fraud for allegedly inflating the company's revenue. A federal judge approved SEC civil penalties, including bans from serving as directors or officers of public companies....
The Next American Unwinding – Barron’s
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s enforcement activity on digital assets has sharply contracted, dropping from 58 actions in 2024 to just 13 in 2025. Many ongoing crypto investigations were closed without any claims, and staff who survived a wave of...
Sam Bankman-Fried Is Waging a Campaign for a Pardon—But Trump Will Not Grant One, Says White House | Fortune
Convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman‑Fried has turned to a MAGA‑styled social media campaign, urging President Donald Trump to grant him a presidential pardon. The effort follows Trump’s recent pardons of high‑profile financial‑crime figures, including Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. A White...
Prosecuting Insider Trading in the AI Era – Business Law Today From ABA
The article examines how artificial‑intelligence tools are reshaping insider‑trading prosecutions. Defendants may argue that AI‑generated analysis, rather than material nonpublic information (MNPI), drove their trades, invoking a routine‑strategy or diversification defense. It also explores the “mosaic theory,” suggesting AI can...
SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgments as to Joseph C. Lewis, Carolyn W. Carter, Patrick J. O’Connor, and Bryan L. Waugh...
The SEC entered final consent judgments against Joseph C. Lewis, his girlfriend Carolyn W. Carter, and pilots Patrick J. O’Connor and Bryan L. Waugh for alleged insider trading. Lewis, as majority owner of a biotechnology investment fund, obtained material nonpublic...
CFTC Taps Ex-Prosecutor, ‘Billions’ Adviser for Enforcement
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that David Miller will become its enforcement director on March 2, succeeding a period of heightened scrutiny over derivatives trading. Miller, a former federal prosecutor, has spent the last several years as a...
WisdomTree Gets SEC Nod for 24/7 Tokenized Money Market Fund – Bloomberg
WisdomTree received SEC exemptive relief to issue tokenized shares of its $730 million Treasury Money Market Digital Fund. The approval lets investors buy and sell shares at a constant $1 price around the clock, rather than the traditional once‑daily NAV pricing....
SEC Says Former Edison Nation Executives Made False PPE Claims
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a fraud action against former Edison Nation chief executive Christopher B. Ferguson and former chief strategy officer Brian P. McFadden, alleging they fabricated purchase‑order data for personal protective equipment during the early...
Financial Crime’s Forgotten Statute: SDNY Rediscovers a Powerful Tool | Law.com
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has revived the rarely used Section 225 of the federal fraud statutes, filing the first indictments under the provision in a decade. The recent cases—First Brands and United States v....
Kalshi Clears ‘Backlog’ of Suspicious Activity, Plans to Disclose Actions Against Insider Trading – Decrypt
Kalshi, a regulated U.S. prediction‑market platform, has finished reviewing a backlog of suspicious trading activity. The effort, led by new head of enforcement Robert DeNault, uncovered multiple potential insider‑trading violations and other rule breaches. Kalshi plans to publicly disclose the...
DOJ Increasingly Wielding False Claims Act to Target Cybersecurity Misrepresentations | Law.com
The U.S. Department of Justice is intensifying its use of the False Claims Act to pursue cybersecurity misrepresentations, noting a “significant upward trajectory” in such cases. In the past year, the DOJ secured $52 million through nine FCA settlements involving cyber‑related...
Reliance, Misplaced: Restoring the Text of the Antifraud Provisions of the Federal Securities Laws in SEC Enforcement Actions
The SEC enforces the broad antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws as powerful tools, often proceeding without showing that investors relied on deceptive statements. Historically, the Commission has treated reliance as irrelevant, a stance rooted in a 1949 dicta...
SEC Charges Texas Startup and Former CEO In Connection With Alleged Fraud in $4.2 Million Stock Offering
The SEC has charged Texas‑based startup C‑Hear, Inc. and its former chief executive, Adena Harmon, with securities fraud over a $4.2 million private stock offering. Between 2019 and 2023, the company raised capital from at least 48 investors while allegedly misrepresenting...
Money Awards to SEC Over Pump-and-Dump Scheme Upheld on Appeal
The First Circuit upheld nearly $43 million in disgorgement awards against five defendants in a penny‑stock pump‑and‑dump scheme. The court found internal records clearly demonstrated each participant’s share of the illicit profits. The case is being sent back to the District...
Pardoned Binance Founder Hobnobs With Trump Sons and Administration Officials at Mar-a-Lago Crypto Fest – WSJ
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, received a full presidential pardon and made his first U.S. visit since his 2024 release from a California federal prison. He attended a 500‑person crypto conference hosted by Trump‑backed World Liberty Financial at Mar‑a‑Lago,...
Musk’s Twitter Trial Gets Jurors Who Can Set Aside Feelings
Nine jurors were selected from a pool of 93 to hear the securities class action against Elon Musk over his 2022 Twitter acquisition, which investors claim violated securities law by causing the stock price to plunge. The trial, overseen by...
Number Go Down and Other Schadenfreude
In a recent SEC briefing, Commissioners Peirce and Chairman Atkins addressed the sharp decline in cryptocurrency prices, emphasizing that regulators should not panic over market swings. They reiterated that the SEC’s role is to ensure robust disclosures so investors can...
Musk: SEC Disclosure Claim Represents Targeted Application of Unclear Rule | Law.com
Elon Musk responded to the SEC’s disclosure violation claim regarding his Twitter acquisition with a filing that outlines 14 defenses. He argues that Section 13(d) and Rule 13d-1 compel content‑based disclosures that infringe the First Amendment and are vague about...
Former SEC Deputy Director and Top Trial Lawyer Antonia Apps Joins Paul, Weiss’s Litigation Department | Paul, Weiss
Paul, Weiss announced that Antonia M. Apps, former SEC Deputy Director of Enforcement and ex‑federal prosecutor, has joined the firm as a partner in its New York Litigation Department. Apps is renowned for high‑stakes securities and white‑collar litigation. Her arrival...
If US Regulators Won’t Hold Auditors to Account, Will the Courts?
The Trump administration slashed the PCAOB budget and installed a career auditor as its head, prompting concerns that auditors are now policing themselves. The SEC argues the changes refocus the board on substantive wrongdoing rather than paperwork errors. Critics fear...
Remarks at the Texas A&M School of Law Corporate Law Symposium
In a recent Texas A&M Law symposium, the SEC suggested a rule granting a safe harbor for companies that omit generic risk factors from their filings. The proposal would treat failure to disclose widely publicized events, likely to affect most...
Wall Street Wants to Bring Election Bets Into Brokerage Accounts – Bloomberg
Roundhill Investments has filed a request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch six exchange‑traded funds that let investors wager on U.S. election outcomes. Each ETF would hold binary event contracts that settle at either $1 or $0,...
A Year of Change, A Year in Review: A Q&A on SEC Whistleblower Program Results for FY2025 – Outten &...
On February 12, 2026 the SEC released its FY2025 Dodd‑Frank Whistleblower Program report, showing more than $60 million awarded to 48 whistleblowers—a sharp drop from the $255 million paid in FY2024. The agency’s 2025 financial report indicates total whistleblower payouts of $171 million,...
States Encroach on Prediction Markets – WSJ
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has long regulated prediction markets, but a wave of state lawsuits is challenging its authority. Nearly 50 cases across the U.S. allege that event contracts offered by platforms like Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase and Crypto.com...
US Lawmaker Blasts SEC Crypto Overhaul—Bulls See Regulatory Reset Powering the Next Rally – Regulation Bitcoin News
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, publicly challenged SEC Chair Paul Atkins during a Feb. 11 hearing, accusing the agency of prioritizing Wall Street and billionaires over ordinary investors. She highlighted that the SEC currently has...
SEC Polices Affinity Fraudsters Despite Enforcement Sea Change
The SEC has filed at least ten complaints in the past year accusing defendants of running Ponzi‑style affinity fraud schemes that target religious, cultural or ethnic groups. This volume mirrors the enforcement activity seen during the final year of Chairman...
Israeli Reservist Indicted for Polymarket Gambling on IDF | The Jerusalem Post
An Israeli civilian and an IDF reservist were indicted for allegedly exploiting classified military intelligence to place bets on the prediction‑market platform Polymarket. Authorities say the suspects used insider knowledge of operation timing to profit, prompting a joint Shin Bet, Defense...
Cleary Gottlieb Discusses the Shifting SEC Enforcement Landscape | CLS Blue Sky Blog
The SEC is sharpening its enforcement focus on core misconduct such as insider trading, accounting and disclosure fraud, market manipulation, and adviser fiduciary breaches. Chairman Gary Gensler, echoing Acting Director Sam Waldon, has directed staff away from low‑harm record‑keeping investigations....
AI, the SEC, and the 2026 Reporting Season | The D&O Diary
The SEC announced an AI Task Force led by a newly appointed Chief AI Officer to centralize responsible AI integration across the agency, backed by a 2025 AI Compliance Plan aligned with OMB guidance. This internal effort signals a durable,...