The divided Manhattan panel held that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ confidential information—which two of the defendants used to earn millions at their hedge funds by shorting stocks of affected companies—didn’t qualify as “property” or a “thing of value” under wire and securities fraud laws.

At a minimum, former federal prosecutors and other lawyers predict the United States v. Blaszczak opinion—which received little attention when it came down two days after Christmas—will impede cases brought against those who’ve stolen government regulatory information. The decision could also provide new avenues of defense to those investigated for a variety of criminal offenses in the public and private sectors.

Idaho I.T. Professional Sentenced To 28 Months In Prison For Insider Trading Scheme / David Stone Electronically Accessed an Investment Advice Service’s Unannounced Stock Picks and Used that Information to Generate Millions in Trading Profits and to Provide Inside Tips to Another (DOJ Release)
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/idaho-it-professional-sentenced-28-months-prison-insider-trading-scheme
In the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, David Stone pled guilty to one count of securities fraud; and he was sentenced to 28 months in prison plus three years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $2,883,800 and particular shares of stock, to pay $344,000 in restitution to Advisor-1, and to pay a $20,000 fine. As alleged in part in the DOJ Release:

From 2020 up to at least March 2022, DAVID STONE exploited market-moving stock recommendations made by an investment recommendation service (“Advisor-1”) before those recommendations were released to paying subscribers.  STONE, an I.T. professional, accessed Advisor-1’s computing system using log-in credentials he obtained without authorization and used his improperly obtained access to view information relating to Advisor-1’s recommendations before they were announced to Advisor-1’s paying subscribers.

Advisor-1’s stock recommendations typically lead to higher closing prices for the recommended stock as compared to the prior day’s closing price.  By trading on those recommendations before they were announced, STONE was able to obtain significant profits unavailable to other market participants.  In fact, across all the brokerage accounts he traded in, STONE realized gains of at least $4.8 million.

In addition to his own trading, STONE supplied these stolen trading tips to another person (“Tippee-1”). From in or about January 2021 up to and including in or about March 2022, on approximately 45 different days, STONE sent emails to Tippee-1 providing stock names and/or ticker symbols ahead of Advisor-1 announcements of stock recommendations to its paying subscribers.  A brokerage account associated with Tippee-1 traded ahead of Advisor-1’s recommendations on more than a dozen occasions. As a result of that trading, Tippee-1 profited more than approximately $2.7 million.  

SEC Sues Texas Company and Two Executives to Halt $34 Million Scheme (SEC Release)
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2023/lr25640.htm
In the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the SEC filed a Complaint
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2023/comp25640.pdf charging Clyde Cameron Cravey, Kenneth Wiedrich, Reliable One Resources, Inc., and Quantum Filtration, Inc. with with violating the antifraud and securities-registration provisions of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC Complaint, Wiedrich and Cravey agreed to partially settle the SEC's claims
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2023/judg25640.pdf against them and the Court entered a judgment reflecting those settlements whereby Wiedrich and Cravey are permanently enjoined from further violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws and imposes an officer-and-director bar, a penny stock bar, and a conduct-based injunction against each of them. Separately, the Court entered an unopposed order freezing the defendants' assets and appointing a receiver that will remain in place until further order of the Court; and, also, entered an unopposed preliminary injunction against Reliable One Resources and Quantum Filtration
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2023/injuct25640.pdf. As alleged in part in the SEC Release:

[T]he defendants sought to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic by promoting false claims that Quantum Filtration was using a cutting-edge technology to produce and sell an N-95 certified facemask. In reality, the mask had no N-95 certification. The complaint further alleges that the defendants falsely claimed that Reliable One imminently expected the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the facemask for sale, even though the defendants never submitted the necessary application to the FDA. The complaint also alleges that the defendants touted business deals that did not exist, misled investors about Reliable One's use of investor funds, and failed to disclose Cravey's involvement in the companies to prevent investors from discovering negative information about his past, including that, in 2012, a Texas court entered an $8 million judgment against him for his role in a fraudulent securities offering.

SEC Charges Former CEO of Slync in $67 Million Offering Fraud / Defendant Kirchner Misappropriated More Than $28 Million of Investor Proceeds to Fund His Lavish Lifestyle (SEC Release)
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-26
In the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the SEC filed a Complaint charging Slync, Inc. Co-Founder/Former Chief Executive Officer Christopher S. Kirchner with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2023/comp-pr2023-26.pdf
. A parallel criminal action was filed against Kirchner. As alleged in part in the SEC Release:

[B]etween approximately January 2020 and January 2022, Kirchner misrepresented the financial condition of Slync to investors, including concerning the amount of revenue received from customers and the nature and volume of contracts with existing and potential customers, as well as the planned use of fundraising proceeds. In addition, between March 2020 and his termination from Slync in August 2022, Kirchner allegedly misappropriated more than $28 million of the funds Slync raised from investors, including by transferring tens of millions of dollars from Slync corporate bank accounts to his personal bank accounts and by paying for his personal expenses directly out of one of Slync’s bank accounts. As alleged in the complaint, Kirchner used the money to, among other things, fund his personal investment entity, KFIM LLC, pay entertainment expenses, and purchase a $16 million personal private jet, all while failing to make timely payroll distributions to Slync employees on several occasions. 

SEC Awards 30% Whistleblower Award to Claimant 
Order Determining Whistleblower Award Claim ('34 Act Release No. 34-96923; Whistleblower Award Proc. File No. 2023-36)
https://www.sec.gov/rules/other/2023/34-96923.pdf
The SEC's Claims Review Staff ("CRS") issued a Preliminary Determination recommending a Whistleblower Award of 30% of sanctions collected to Claimant for both a Covered Action and a Related Action. CRS recommended the denial of an Award to a second Claimant. The Commission ordered that CRS's recommendations be approved. The Order asserts in part that [Ed: footnotes omitted]:

[C]lamant provided more than limited assistance, and there are no public interest, investor protection, or programmatic concerns that would warrant departure from a 30% award here. Claimant saved Enforcement staff time and resources in conducting the investigation.  Claimant provided meaningful information that advanced the investigation and assisted in establishing the underlying misconduct. Claimant provided continuing assistance throughout the investigation,including providing documents and meeting with the staff. Claimant also acted quickly in trying to expose the misconduct. 

FINRA Sanctions Member Firm and Its CEO for Permitting Association of Statutorily Disqualified Individual 
In the Matter of Quint Capital Corporation and Alexander Quint, Respondents (FINRA AWC 2021070418202)
https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/fda_documents/2021070418202
%20Quint%20Capital%20Corporation%20BD%2026586%20and
%20Alexander%20Quint%20CRD%20No.%201012135
%20AWC%20gg.pdf
For the purpose of proposing a settlement of rule violations alleged by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"), without admitting or denying the findings, prior to a regulatory hearing, and without an adjudication of any issue, Quint Capital Corporation ("QCC") and Alexander Quint submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent ("AWC"), which FINRA accepted. The AWC asserts that Quint Capital Corporation has been a FINRA member firm since 1990 with about 20 registered persons; and that Alexander Quint was first registered in 1981, by 2014, he was registered with QCC and has been the firm's Chief Executive Officer. In accordance with the terms of the AWC, FINRA imposed upon QCC a Censure and $35,000 fine; and on Quint a $10,000 fine and five-month suspension in Principal-only capacities. As alleged in part in the AWC [Ed: footnotes omitted]:

Quint was the principal at QCC responsible for supervising QCC’s compliance with licensing and registration matters, including matters relating to statutory disqualification. In February 2018, Quint signed and submitted on behalf of QCC a Membership Continuance Application (“MC-400 Application”) seeking to permit Individual A to associate with the firm despite Individual A being statutorily disqualified under Section 3(a)(39) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 due to an SEC bar and a federal district court order enjoining Individual A from violating various federal securities laws and regulations.

In November 2019, FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council issued a Notice Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 19h-1 approving the application for Individual A to associate with the firm as a GSR. However, as stated in the Notice and in FINRA’s letter to Quint and QCC accompanying the Notice, under FINRA Rule 9524(b)(3) the Notice would become effective only after the issuance of an order from the SEC stating that the SEC would not institute proceedings pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Exchange Act and that it will not direct otherwise pursuant to Exchange Act Section 15A(g)(2). The SEC never issued such an order, and the Notice never became effective.

From January 2020 to March 2020, at a time when the Notice was not effective and Individual A was not registered as a Municipal Securities Representative, QCC and Quint nevertheless permitted Individual A to associate with the firm and to engage in activities requiring registration as a Municipal Securities Representative. Specifically, Quint and QCC provided Individual A with passwords and access to electronic systems and platforms at QCC to trade municipal bonds. With QCC and Quint’s knowledge, Individual A referred four customers, including a married couple, to open accounts at QCC, discussed municipal securities transactions with those customers and effected approximately 25 municipal securities purchase and sale transactions for the accounts of
those customers.

In March 2021, Quint caused QCC to withdraw the MC-400 Application for Individual A, and to file a Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5) terminating Individual A’s association with the firm.

By permitting Individual A to engage in the activities described above, Quint and QCC permitted a barred and statutorily disqualified individual to associate with the firm.Therefore, Quint and QCC violated Article III, Section 3(b) of FINRA’s By-Laws, FINRA Rules 8311 and 2010, and MSRB Rules G-4 and G-5.

In addition, QCC and Quint permitted Individual A to engage in activity requiring registration as a Municipal Securities Representative. Therefore, QCC and Quint violated MSRB Rules G-2 and G-3.

Calling All Unreasonable Financial Professionals: a personal message from Bill Singer Esq (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog)
https://www.brokeandbroker.com/6881/unreasonable-financial-pro
fessionals/
Maybe this year, finally, someone launches a trade group for the industry's hundreds of thousands of financial professionals. Yeah, I know, wishful thinking. But there are rumblings. I hear them. I feel them. The industry's grunts are getting fed up. In 2023, if pressed, many financial professionals would admit that they now realize that they can deliver better customer service if they weren't shackled to a large industry employer by anti-consumer laws and rules enforced by co-opted industry regulators. 

SEC Obtains Court Order for Partial Asset Freeze and Other Temporary Relief in Fraud Action Against Microcap Public Company and CEO (SEC Release)
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2023/lr25638.htm
In a Complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, the SEC charged Seong Yeol Lee and Ameritrust Corporation with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10(b)-5 thereunder. The Court entered a temporary order prohibiting Lee and Ameritrust from violating certain antifraud provisions of the securities laws and from soliciting or accepting funds from investors; and the TRO freezes assets in certain bank accounts of Ameritrust and two affiliated entities named as relief defendants in the SEC's action. The TRO will be in effect for sixty (60) days, to allow time for Lee and Ameritrust to retain counsel to represent them in the SEC's action. By agreeing to the entry of the TRO, Lee and Ameritrust did not admit to any wrongdoing and did not waive any rights to assert any defenses. As alleged in part in the SEC Release:

[T]hrough a network of recruiters acting at his direction, Lee solicited more than $20 million from investors primarily in the Republic of Korea, who sent money to corporate and personal bank accounts that Lee controls in the United States to buy shares of Ameritrust, a publicly traded company in the United States. Lee, either directly or through his recruiters, allegedly told investors that their money would buy shares in a U.S.-based company that would be listed on a national stock exchange, guaranteeing profits for anyone holding the shares. In reality, the complaint alleges that Ameritrust has no real operations and has not taken any steps to apply for any exchange listing. According to the SEC's complaint, Lee misappropriated at least $4 million of investor funds by transferring money from corporate bank accounts to his personal bank accounts and to three of his adult children, who are also named as relief defendants in the SEC's action. Lee and Ameritrust also allegedly defrauded the public by making materially false statements or failing to disclose material information in Ameritrust's filings with the Commission.

Kraken to Discontinue Unregistered Offer and Sale of Crypto Asset Staking-As-A-Service Program and Pay $30 Million to Settle SEC Charges (SEC Release)
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2023/lr25637.htm
In a Complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the SEC Payward Ventures, Inc. and Payward Trading Ltd., a/k/a  "Kraken" with failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program.
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2023/comp-pr2023-25.pdf Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's Complaint, the Kraken entities consented to the entry of a final judgment that would permanently enjoin each of them from violating Section 5 of the Securities Act and permanently enjoin them and any entity they control from, directly or indirectly, offering or selling securities through crypto asset staking services or staking programs. In settling the charges, the Kraken entities agreed to immediately cease offering or selling securities through crypto asset staking services or staking programs and pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. As alleged in part in the SEC Release:

[S]ince 2019, Kraken has offered and sold its crypto asset "staking services" to the general public, whereby Kraken pools certain crypto assets transferred by investors and stakes them on behalf of those investors. Staking is a process in which investors lock up - or "stake" - their crypto tokens with a blockchain validator with the goal of being rewarded with new tokens when their staked crypto tokens become part of the process for validating data for the blockchain. When investors provide tokens to staking-as-a-service providers, they lose control of those tokens and take on risks associated with those platforms, with very little protection. The complaint alleges that Kraken touts that its staking investment program offers an easy-to-use platform and benefits that derive from Kraken's efforts on behalf of investors, including Kraken's strategies to obtain regular investment returns and payouts.

SEC Awards Almost $3 Whistleblower Award to Claimant 
Order Determining Whistleblower Award Claim ('34 Act Release No. 34-96887; Whistleblower Award Proc. File No. 2023-35)
https://www.sec.gov/rules/other/2023/34-96887.pdf
The SEC's Claims Review Staff ("CRS") issued Preliminary Determinations recommending a Whistleblower Award of almost $3 million to Claimant for both a Covered Action and a Related Action. The Commission ordered that CRS's recommendations be approved. The Order asserts in part that [Ed: footnotes omitted]:

In making this determination, we find that (i) the above-referenced criminal action constitutes a “related action” to the Covered Action within the meaning of Exchange Act Section 21F(a)(5) and Rule 21F-3(b) promulgated thereunder; (ii) the original information that Claimant  provided to the Commission that led to the successful enforcement of the Covered Action also led to the successful enforcement of the Related Action; and (iii) Claimant otherwise satisfies the award criteria for a “related action” set forth in Exchange Act Section 21F and the rules promulgated thereunder.  We also find that the Related Action has a more direct or relevant connection to the Commission’s whistleblower program than to another whistleblower program,including REDACTED (“Other Agency”) whistleblower program.5 This is because the Related Action primarily charged the defendant with securities fraud in connection with REDACTED , similar to the Commission’s own charges in the Covered Action.  
= = =
Footnote 5:  We understand that Claimant is also seeking a whistleblower award for the Related Action from the Other Agency, but that the Other Agency has not yet adjudicated Claimant’s award claim. The Commission’s rules do not permit a claimant to obtain a “double recovery” on the same enforcement action. Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 21F3(b)(3)(iii)(C), Claimant’s award in the Related Action “shall be conditioned on the claimant making an irrevocable waiver of any claim to an award from the [the Other Agency]. The claimant’s irrevocable waiver must be made within 60 calendar days of the claimant receiving notification of the Commission’s Final Order.”

CFTC Charges Three Puerto Rico Residents and Their Companies with Misappropriating Over $13 Million in Connection with Commodity Pool Ponzi Scheme (CFTC Release)
https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8656-23
In a Complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
https://www.cftc.gov/media/8161/enffxlatinocomplaint021023/download, the CFTC charged  Ramon Salvador Delgado-Gomez, FX Latino (FXL), FXL Investment PR LLC (FXLI), Walmy Rivera-Santiago, JRH Services Inc. (JRH), Hector Javier Santos-Pagan (Santos), and Infinity Investment and Construction Management Corp. (Infinity) with fraud and registration violations. As alleged in part in the CFTC Release:

[F]rom approximately November 18, 2019 through February 8, 2021, Gomez and FXL, aided and abetted by, among others, Rivera and Santos and their respective companies, JRH and Infinity, conducted a scheme which solicited and accepted at least $17 million from over 2,000 individuals and entities in Puerto Rico and the continental United States for the purpose of engaging in a pooled investment in forex trading. According to the complaint, rather than using the pool participants’ funds to trade on behalf of the pool, FXL engaged in little to no trading, and, instead, FXL and Gomez misappropriated at least $13 million of pool participants’ funds to pay purported returns to existing pool participants in a manner typical of a Ponzi scheme. The complaint further alleges Gomez and FXL misappropriated pool participant funds to pay business and personal expenses and to make payments to Gomez, some of the aiders and abettors, and other unnamed individuals and entities involved in the scheme.

As charged, FXLI, JRH, and Infinity, by and through their respective principals, Gomez, Rivera, and Santos, aided and abetted FXL’s and Gomez’s misappropriation by, among other things, using FXLI’s, JRH’s, and Infinity’s bank accounts to accept pool participants’ funds; transfer pool participants’ funds amongst themselves, FXL, Gomez, and other entities and individuals involved in the scheme; and make Ponzi-type payments to pool participants.

The complaint also charges FXL with failure to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) and Gomez with failure to register as an associated person of a CPO.

Notice Regarding Paxos-Issued BUSD (Consumer Alert / New York State Department of Financial Services)
https://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumers/alerts/Paxos_and_Binance

Paxos Trust Company (“Paxos”) is a limited purpose trust company under the supervision of the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”).

DFS has ordered Paxos to cease minting Paxos-issued BUSD as a result of several unresolved issues related to Paxos’ oversight of its relationship with Binance in regard to Paxos-issued BUSD. In response, on February 13, 2023, Paxos notified customers of its intent to end its relationship with Binance for BUSD.

The Department is monitoring Paxos closely to verify that the company can facilitate redemptions in an orderly fashion subject to enhanced, risk-based, compliance protocols.

It is important to note that the Department authorized Paxos to issue BUSD on the Ethereum blockchain. The Department has not authorized Binance-Peg BUSD on any blockchain, and Binance-Peg BUSD is not issued by Paxos. There is currently no restriction on the listing or exchange in New York of existing Paxos-issued BUSD by DFS-licensed entities. 

Pursuant to DFS requirements, all stablecoins issued by DFS-regulated entities are required to be fully backed 1:1 by cash or cash equivalents. These reserves are regularly reviewed through third-party attestations and internal and external, independent reviews. Compliance with the DFS stablecoin guidance and bespoke supervisory agreements are also part of the examination process.

Paxos is required to redeem their Paxos-issued BUSD tokens for U.S. dollars through Paxos at a 1:1 exchange rate pursuant to compliance protocols for customers in good standing.

U.S. residents who own Paxos-issued BUSD and are not already Paxos customers in good standing can apply to be onboarded as a Paxos customer. Once a customer has gone through the onboarding and due diligence process, Paxos is required to redeem Paxos-issued BUSD for USD at a 1:1 exchange rate pursuant to compliance protocols

Per DFS requirements, Paxos is required to conduct due diligence on every new customer. There may be a high volume of new customer and redemption requests that will require extended processing time. If you have any issues creating an account with Paxos or would like to know the status of your redemption request, please submit a support request through the Paxos Support Website, at help.paxos.com.