Join the SEC’s New York and San Francisco Regional Offices on April 27 from 4-5:30 p.m. ET for a candid conversation about capital raising for technology-focused entrepreneurs and investors of color.

The two-part virtual discussion features representatives from the SEC and several outstanding guest panelists who will cover topics that include the following:

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it filed an emergency action and obtained a temporary restraining order and an asset freeze to stop an alleged Ponzi scheme and misappropriation of investor proceeds perpetrated by Melbourne, Florida resident Jonathan P. Maroney through several entities he controls.

According to the SEC's complaint, which was filed in federal court in the Middle District of Florida, since about May 2015, Maroney and his companies raised at least $17.1 million from more than 100 investors in a series of fraudulent securities offerings. The complaint alleges that Maroney, his company Harbor City Capital Corp., and his various other entities told investors that offering proceeds would be used to finance the defendants' online "customer lead generation campaigns,"  and promised investors annual returns ranging from 10% to 60% from the resale of those leads to other businesses. In fact, according to the complaint,...

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, April 30, to home in on solutions to increase access to capital for underrepresented founders and investors from smaller, regional funds.

Following its August 2020 meeting, the Committee presented findings encouraging the Commission to improve access to capital for underrepresented founders and investors. The April 30 discussion will revisit feedback shared during prior meetings and will include a presentation from the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation highlighting data quantifying differential access to capital across demographic groups and geographies.  Following discussion on potential solutions to improve equitable access to capital, the Committee will deliberate on potential recommendations. The full agenda for the meeting is available with other meeting materials on the Committee’s webpage.

How to Listen:...

First, SEC panelists will discuss how the capital raising rules have changed. Then, tech founders and funders will share their experiences, insights, and successes in launching and growing new businesses, including the challenges facing entrepreneurs of color in raising capital for their businesses and ways to increase access to capital for these business owners.

This event will be recorded.

SEC SPEAKERS

• Richard Best, Director, New York Regional Office

• Erin Schneider, Director, San Francisco Regional Office

• Martha Legg Miller, Director, Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation

• Sebastian Gomez Abero, Deputy Director, Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation

• Jennifer Zepralka, Chief, Office of Small Business Policy, Division of Corporation Finance

GUEST PANELISTS

• Ramona Ortega, Founder, My Money My Future

• Brittany Davis, General Partner, Backstage...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the appointments of Keo Chea as Director of Public Engagement and Aisha Johnson as Director of Media Relations. Chea joins the SEC from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, effective today, and Johnson will join the SEC from the office of U.S. Senator Bob Casey, D-Pa., effective May 10.

"The SEC is committed to open and frequent communication with the public and members of the media," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "Keo and Aisha bring exceptional experience to the SEC, and are committed to transparently communicating the work of the agency so we can best execute our mission."

Keo Chea

Director of Public Engagement

Keo Chea will serve as the primary liaison between Chair Gensler and the public. She most recently led the Office of Public Engagement and Community Liaison at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where she has served since 2012. Previously, she was the Adjudicator in the...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of over $50 million to joint whistleblowers whose information alerted SEC staff to violations that involved highly complex transactions and would have been difficult to detect without their information. 

The joint whistleblowers provided exemplary assistance to the SEC staff during the investigation, including meeting with staff numerous times and providing voluminous detailed documents. The information provided by these individuals resulted in the return of tens of millions of dollars to harmed investors.  

“Today’s award is the second largest in the history of the program, reflecting the tremendous contribution of these joint whistleblowers to our ability to recover funds for harmed investors,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “The SEC has now awarded over a quarter of a billion dollars to whistleblowers in the first seven months of this fiscal...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged seven individuals, including criminal recidivist Richard Dale Sterritt, Jr., with defrauding investors through a multimillion dollar oil-and-gas offering fraud and related market manipulation scheme.

The SEC's complaint alleges that, between March 2018 and at least November 2020, Sterritt – who used the pseudonym "Richard Richman" – Michael Greer, Deanna Looney, Robert Magness, Jr., Katie Mathews, James Christopher Pittman, and Mark Ross raised more than $16 million from more than 300 investors through an unregistered private placement of the common stock of Zona Energy Inc., a Dallas-based company that claimed to be focused on the oil and gas industry. According to the complaint, the defendants made various false and misleading statements verbally and in offering materials to solicit investors, including that their funds would be used to support Zona's operations, namely to develop the mineral...

A warm congratulations to Gary Gensler on his Senate confirmation to become Chair of the SEC. He will be joining a dedicated staff that works tirelessly day in and day out on behalf of investors and our markets. We welcome him back to public service and look forward to working together to execute our vital mission.

U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration April 2021

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Under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), parties providing fiduciary investment advice to plan sponsors, plan participants, and IRA owners may not receive payments creating conflicts of interest, unless they comply with protective conditions in a prohibited transaction exemption.

On December 18, 2020, the Department adopted PTE 2020-02, Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees, a new prohibited transaction exemption under ERISA and the Code for investment advice fiduciaries with respect to employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Investment advice fiduciaries who rely on the exemption must render advice that is in their plan and IRA customers’ best interest in order to receive...

In a recent statement, Acting Chief Accountant Paul Munter highlighted a number of important financial reporting considerations for SPACs.[2] Among other things, that statement highlighted challenges associated with the accounting for complex financial instruments that may be common in SPACs. Additionally, CF staff also issued a recent statement[3] highlighting key filing considerations for SPACs.

We recently evaluated fact patterns relating to the accounting for warrants issued in connection with a SPAC’s formation and initial registered offering. While the specific terms of such warrants can vary, we understand that certain features of warrants issued in SPAC transactions may be common across many entities. We are issuing this statement to highlight the potential accounting implications of certain terms that may be common in warrants included in SPAC transactions and to discuss the financial reporting considerations that apply if a registrant and its auditors...

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