US Legal & Regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a record 735 enforcement actions in the fiscal year that ended 30 September, 2011. This record number includes many cases involving highly complex products, transactions, and market practices, including those related to the financial crisis as well as insider trading by market professionals. »

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved a final rule requiring certain advisors to private funds that are dually registered with the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to report information to the SEC for use by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) in monitoring risks to the US financial system. »

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has voted unanimously to adopt a new rule requiring certain advisers to hedge funds and other private funds to report information for use by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) in monitoring risks to the U.S. financial system. »

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Stephen Amella and Andre Hayden, residents of Illinois and Tennessee, respectively, with making misrepresentations to investors regarding investments in a purported real estate joint venture and for acting as unregistered brokers. »

Guernsey’s engagement with Washington has resulted in Democrat Senator Carl Levin removing the Island from his “blacklist”. Guernsey’s Chief Minister Lyndon Trott (pictured) this week met with officials in Washington. The meetings continued a dialogue started nearly a decade ago to strengthen ties between the Guernsey and US governments and reinforced Guernsey’s reputation as a leader in tax transparency, information exchange and international co-operation. »

Presidential Realty Corporation, a real estate investment trust whose Class B common stock is traded on the NYSE AMEX LLC (the "Exchange"), has received a notice from the Exchange, indicating that the company is not in compliance with the Exchange's continued listing standard set forth in Section 1003(a)(iii) of the Exchange's Company Guide due to having stockholders' equity of less than USD6,000,000 at March 31, 2011 and losses from continuing operations in its five most recent fiscal years ended December 31, 2010. »

The US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio has filed criminal charges against Edward A Allen and David L Olson, residents of Lakeland, Florida, accusing them of securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy for their roles in a USD14 million real estate investment fraud. »

The seemingly intuitive application of long-standing securities anti-fraud and anti-manipulation rules to the complex world of over-the-counter derivatives, particularly where derivative products intersect with the loan market, will affect trading practices and compliance rules at all institutions trading these instruments, according to Richards Kibbe & Orbe partners Julia Lu and Eva Marie Carney... »

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action charging Monticello, New York investment adviser Lloyd V Barriger with fraud in connection with two upstate New York real estate funds he managed – the Gaffken & Barriger Fund, LLC (the G&B Fund or the Fund), and Campus Capital Corp. (Campus). »

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed and simultaneously settled charges that Hernando Chovil of McLean, V., committed fraud in connection with operating a commodity pool. Chovil has never been registered with the CFTC.   »