Securities Industry Commentator by Bill Singer Esq WEEK IN REVIEW

May 6, 2023

A Call for Boycott: FINRA Board of Governors' Cowardly Silence Becomes Thunderous (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog)

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2023 FINRA Industry Snapshot

Attorney General James Proposes Nation-Leading Regulations on Cryptocurrency Industry / Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency, and Oversight (CRPTO) Act Would Eliminate Conflicts of Interest, Increase Transparency, and Impose Commonsense Measures to Protect Investors (NYAG Press Release)

Industry Recruiter Sues Morgan Stanley Citing Racial Discrimination
ANTHONY FLETCHER,  Plaintiff, v. MORGAN STANLEY & CO. LLC,

MORGAN STANLEY SMITH BARNEY LLC, AND MORGAN STANLEY, Defendants. (Complaint, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois / May 3, 2023)

DOJ RELEASES

Former Founder And CEO Of Nanotechnology Company Sentenced To 48 Months In Prison / James Jeremy Barbera Defrauded Investors Out of More than $7 Million by Falsely Claiming His Company Developed a Breathalyzer Device to Detect Cancer (DOJ Release)

Former Naugatuck Resident Charged with Offenses Stemming from Alleged Investment Fraud Scheme (DOJ Release)

Massachusetts and Connecticut Men Sentenced for Ponzi and Tax Fraud Schemes (DOJ Release)

Slync Founder Chris Kirchner Indicted (DOJ Release)

California Man & Companies Charged with Defrauding Central Illinois Investors (DOJ Release)

Network of Transnational Fraudsters Indicted for Racketeering in Scheme to Steal Millions from American Consumers’ Bank Accounts (DOJ Release)

Cybercriminal Network Fueling the Global Stolen Credit Card Trade is Dismantled / Defendant Is Charged With Running An International “Card-Checking” Platform that Generated Tens of Millions of Dollars in Revenue (DOJ Release)

Former Financial Advisor Sentenced for Scheme to Steal Funds from Elderly Bank Customers (DOJ Release)

Californian convicted of fraudulently passing over $1M in counterfeit savings bonds at South Texas banks (DOJ Release)

Military impersonation scheme lands local man in prison (DOJ Release)

SEC RELEASES

Statement on Current Market Events by SEC Chair Gary Gensler 

SEC Charges Investment Adviser and Fund Trustees with Liquidity Rule Violations (SEC Release)

SEC Charges Florida Resident with Operating $5.9 Million Ponzi Scheme Targeting African-American Community (SEC Release)

SEC Charges Advisory Firm and Part-Owner for Breach of Fiduciary Duty in Connection with Use of Leveraged ETFs (SEC Release)

SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Firm and Its Principals for Acting as Unregistered Dealers and Engaging in a Penny Stock Fraud Scheme (SEC Release)

SEC Charges Call Room Operator with Fraud (SEC Release)

SEC Alleges Son and Father-in-Law Touted Faith to Target Church Members in $20 Million Offering Fraud (SEC Release)

SEC Charges Florida Trader with Microcap Stock Manipulation Scheme and Obtains Final Judgment (SEC Release)

SEC Awards $279 Million to Whistleblower Claimant And Denies Awards to Claimant 2 and Claimant 3 
Order Determining Whistleblower Award Claim 

SEC Denies Whistleblower Award to Claimant 
Order Determining Whistleblower Award Claim 

SEC Adopts Amendments to Enhance Private Fund Reporting (SEC Release)

Statement on Amendments to Form PF by SEC Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw

Enhancing Financial Stability and Fulfilling Our Investor Protection Mandate by SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga 

The Changing Nature of Form PF: Statement on Amendments to Form PF by SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce 

Statement on Final Amendments to Form PF to Require Event Reporting for Large Hedge Fund Advisers and Private Equity Fund Advisers and to Amend Reporting Requirements for Large Private Equity Fund Advisers by SEC Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda

SEC Adopts Amendments to Modernize Share Repurchase Disclosure (SEC Release)

Statement on Share Repurchases Adoption by SEC Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw

Modernizing Share Repurchase Disclosures by SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga 

No Repurchase Left Behind: Dissenting Statement on Share Repurchase Modernization Rule by SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce

Statement on the Final Rule: Share Repurchase Disclosure Modernization by SEC Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda

“The ‘90s: Rom-coms, the Spice Girls, & MFA:” Remarks Before the Managed Funds Association by SEC Chair Gary Gensler

CFTC RELEASES

FINRA RELEASES 

FINRA Fines and Suspends Rep for Trading in Deceased Customer's Account
In the Matter of Shahab S. TagnaviDinani, Respondent (FINRA AWC)

FINRA Censures and Fines International Research Securities, Inc. for Net Capital
In the Matter of International Research Securities, Inc., Respondent (FINRA AWC)

FINRA Censure and Fines Madison Avenue Securities Over Mutual Fund Sales Charges.
In the Matter of Madison Avenue Securities, LLC, Respondent (FINRA AWC)

FINRA Arbitration Panel Awards Customer Over $14 Million Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. in Horizon Private Equity III Lawsuit
In the Matter of the Arbitration Between Jerry Willoughby, Victor Hooper, Kelly Hooper, John Disosway & Sylvia Majani, Sheri Bridges, Brian Spence, Kelly Hooper, individually, as joint tenant of the account of  Betty Earle, and as sole beneficiary of Vickie L. Earle Trust, Robyn Roberts, as trustee of the Victor J. Hooper Irrevocable Trust FBO Kelly Victoria Hooper and Jeremy Hooper, Claimant, v. Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., Respondent (FINRA Arbitration Award)

A New Twist on New Account Fraud: Detecting and Preventing ACATS Fraud (FINRA Unscripted)

Restricted Firms / FINRA Adopts Amendments to FINRA Rule 8312 to
Release Information on BrokerCheck Relating to Designation as a Restricted Firm (FINRA Regulatory Notice 23-07)