July 22, 2020 | 6 - 7 pm EDT

Learn about potential scams during the COVID-19 pandemic and the most common tricks fraudsters use. Speakers include SEC Atlanta Regional Office Director Richard Best, Georgia Secretary of State Securities and Charities Division Director Noula Zaharis, and Federal Trade Commission Southeast Regional Office Director Anna Burns. The virtual event is free and open to the public. No preregistration is required.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Mountain View, California-based technology start-up and its chief executive officer with defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about the company’s finances and sources of revenue.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that from 2018 to 2019, Shaukat Shamim, the founder and CEO of YouPlus, a private company that purported to have developed a machine-learning tool to analyze videos on the internet, raised funds from investors while repeatedly misrepresenting the company’s financial condition.  According to the complaint, Shamim falsely told investors that YouPlus earned millions of dollars in annual revenue and had more than 100 customers, including Fortune 500 companies.  When one investor pressed Shamim for information substantiating those claims, Shamim allegedly provided the investor with falsified bank statements in an effort to conceal the fraud.  The scheme allegedly unraveled in...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that UBS Financial Services Inc. has agreed to pay more than $10 million to resolve charges that it circumvented the priority given to retail investors in certain municipal bond offerings. 

According to the SEC’s order, over a four-year period, UBS improperly allocated bonds intended for retail customers to parties known in the industry as “flippers,” who then immediately resold or “flipped” the bonds to other broker-dealers at a profit.  The order finds that UBS registered representatives knew or should have known that flippers were not eligible for retail priority.  In addition, the order finds that UBS registered representatives facilitated over 2,000 trades with flippers, which allowed UBS to obtain bonds for its own inventory, thereby circumventing the priority of orders set by the issuers and improperly obtaining a higher priority in the bond allocation process.

“Retail order periods are...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged former registered representative and investment adviser Michael Barry Carter with fraud for stealing from brokerage customers and an elderly advisory client.

The SEC's complaint alleges that Carter, a financial advisor in the McLean, Virginia office of a large financial institution, falsified internal documents in order to effect dozens of unauthorized wire transfers, totaling millions of dollars, from the accounts of brokerage customers to his personal bank account.  According to the complaint, to generate some of the funds that he misappropriated, Carter sold securities without customer authorization. As alleged, Carter employed various methods to conceal his misconduct from his brokerage customers, including diverting account statements to addresses he controlled. The complaint further alleges that Carter made almost $1.5 million in unauthorized transfers from the accounts of an elderly advisory...

As of June 30, registered broker-dealers and registered investment advisers are required to provide a new customer or client relationship summary (also called Form CRS) to retail investors.  SEC staff designed this Investor.gov page to help investors better understand how to use the relationship summary when choosing a financial professional.  This page also provides links to educational resources and a free and simple search tool that can help you research firms and financial professionals.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged David Hu, the co-founder and chief investment officer of International Investment Group LLC (IIG), a former registered investment adviser, with fraud for his role in a $60 million Ponzi-like scheme.

The SEC's complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, alleges that, from October 2013, Hu orchestrated multiple frauds on IIG's investment advisory clients. According to the complaint, Hu grossly overvalued the assets in IIG's flagship hedge fund, resulting in the fund paying inflated fees to IIG. In addition, through IIG, Hu allegedly sold at least $60 million in fake trade finance loans to other investors and used the proceeds to pay the redemption requests of earlier investors and other liabilities. The complaint alleges that Hu deceived IIG clients into purchasing these loans by directing others at IIG to create and provide to the clients fake loan documentation to substantiate the...

The Securities and Exchange Commission, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced the opening of registration for a virtual Compliance Outreach Program for Municipal Advisors.  The webcast program will be held Thursday, August 13, 2020, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.  Additional information, including the agenda, is available on SEC.gov.  

The program will provide municipal market participants an opportunity to hear from SEC, MSRB, and FINRA staff on timely regulatory and compliance matters for municipal advisors.  Topics of discussion include, among other things, the duties and standards of conduct for municipal advisors under MSRB Rules G-42 and G-17 and the fiduciary duty under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; the SEC’s temporary conditional exemption from broker registration for certain direct placement activities; operational considerations for registered municipal advisors;...

I would like to welcome everyone to today’s Special Meeting of the Commission’s Asset Management Advisory Committee.[1]  I am pleased that the Committee is able to meet today to address the important topics on today’s agenda.

Thank you to everyone participating, including Commissioners Peirce and Roisman; our panelists; and the members of the Committee, and a particular thank you to Ed Bernard for your continued leadership of the Committee.  Thank you also to Gilbert Garcia and Neesha Hathi, the Committee members who are serving as today’s panel leaders.  Thank you to the Commission staff who have assisted the Committee in preparing for today’s discussion, especially to Dalia Blass and the other members of the Division of Investment Management, and to Robert Marchman and the team in the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.  Thanks also to the staff in the Office of Information Technology and the Office of the Secretary for facilitating everyone’s...

I would like to welcome everyone to today’s Special Meeting of the Commission’s Asset Management Advisory Committee.[1]  I am pleased that the Committee is able to meet today to address the important topics on today’s agenda.

Thank you to everyone participating, including Commissioners Peirce and Roisman; our panelists; and the members of the Committee, and a particular thank you to Ed Bernard for your continued leadership of the Committee.  Thank you also to Gilbert Garcia and Neesha Hathi, the Committee members who are serving as today’s panel leaders.  Thank you to the Commission staff who have assisted the Committee in preparing for today’s discussion, especially to Dalia Blass and the other members of the Division of Investment Management, and to Robert Marchman and the team in the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.  Thanks also to the staff in the Office of Information Technology and the Office of the Secretary for facilitating everyone’s...

We have continued our efforts to help facilitate the orderly and fair market function, including in coordination with our colleagues at the Federal Reserve and Treasury.[1]

Market activity has remained active in June and thus far in July, but has declined from the peaks in late February and March.  By way of just a few examples:

We have continued our efforts to help facilitate the orderly and fair market function, including in coordination with our colleagues at the Federal Reserve and Treasury.[1]

Market activity has remained active in June and thus far in July, but has declined from the peaks in late February and March.  By way of just a few examples:

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a $3.8 million award to a whistleblower who provided significant information that helped the SEC disrupt an ongoing fraudulent scheme.  The resulting enforcement action returned millions of dollars to harmed investors.

“Today’s award underscores the paramount role the SEC’s whistleblower program plays in safeguarding the Main Street investor.  Since the beginning of the program nearly ten years ago, the SEC has ordered more than $2.5 billion in financial remedies based on whistleblower information, including more than $1.4 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, of which almost $750 million has been returned or is scheduled to be returned to harmed investors,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.

The SEC has awarded approximately $505 million to 87 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012.  This includes awards to 20 individuals in the last 10...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a $3.8 million award to a whistleblower who provided significant information that helped the SEC disrupt an ongoing fraudulent scheme.  The resulting enforcement action returned millions of dollars to harmed investors.

“Today’s award underscores the paramount role the SEC’s whistleblower program plays in safeguarding the Main Street investor.  Since the beginning of the program nearly ten years ago, the SEC has ordered more than $2.5 billion in financial remedies based on whistleblower information, including more than $1.4 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, of which almost $750 million has been returned or is scheduled to be returned to harmed investors,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.

The SEC has awarded approximately $505 million to 87 individuals since issuing its first award in 2012.  This includes awards to 20 individuals in the last 10...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Thunderbird Power Corp., an Arizona-based company claiming to be developing a wind turbine technology, and three individuals for defrauding investors out of more than $1.9 million in the unregistered offer and sale of Thunderbird stock.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Thunderbird’s CEO Richard Hinds (of Arizona), former Thunderbird president Anthony Goldstein (of Canada), and consultant John Alexander “Lex” van Arem (of Canada) orchestrated the fraudulent offering and were responsible for numerous false and misleading statements in offering materials, press releases, and a YouTube video regarding the status of the wind turbine technology, purported validation of the technology by a nationally known firm, and Thunderbird’s use of investor proceeds.  The complaint further alleges that Goldstein and van Arem retained a national network of sales agents to email and cold call prospective investors...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today released the agenda for the virtual July 16 special meeting of the Asset Management Advisory Committee (AMAC). AMAC was formed to provide the Commission with a range of perspectives on asset management and related advice and recommendations.

The meeting will feature discussions on improving diversity and inclusion in the asset management industry, including issues relating to diverse asset managers, as well as issues relating to data privacy and the impact of technology on investment advice.

"AMAC set diversity and inclusion as a top priority at its inaugural meeting," said AMAC Chairman Ed Bernard.  “The committee will hear from six thought leaders who will provide understanding and insights to serve as the foundation of the committee's work on this important issue. We’ll also begin to explore emerging issues relating to data privacy and ownership and the impact of technology on investment advice, guided...