Court Rejects Request for SEC Attorney Notes as "Work Product"

SEC Attorneys Escape Request to Disclose Notes in Microbilt Suit

US Securities and Exchange Commission notes in its case against a consumer credit reporting corporation and investment fund manager are work product for litigation that can’t be forced over in discovery, even if they are redacted, a federal judge ruled.

Defendants Princeton Alternative Funding LLC, Microbilt Corp., and its former executives wanted four SEC attorneys to sit for depositions and turn over redacted witness interview notes in the agency’s enforcement action against them, saying they sought “purely ‘factual’ information and not the attorneys’ mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, or legal theories,” Magistrate Judge J. Brendan Day said Wednesday.

When Mentors and Loved Ones Are Dangerous: Avoid Insider Trading Charges with a 2025 New Year’s Resolution

It happens all the time: a public company employee seeks career advice from a mentor, spouse, or friend with whom they have a longstanding relationship of trust and confidence. It could be part of a regular check-in, or it may get more specific. The employee may confide a fear that their job may change or be eliminated if a big development that’s currently underway at work ends up happening—maybe the employee works on a team that is analyzing a potential acquisition or testing a new product. The purpose of the conversation is career counseling, and the employee trusts that the underlying information about the employer will remain confidential. But the mentor, friend, or loved one then trades in the employer’s (or the target company’s) securities while in possession of the information.

Even if the employee never knew about the mentor’s trading, the employee will come under an investigation spotlight after the news becomes public. The government analyzes traders when reviewing post-announcement securities trading, even when the trader’s profits are relatively small, as they often are in these cases. Although ultimately the authorities may conclude that the employee ought not be charged with tipping material nonpublic information (MNPI), merely being under scrutiny is painful. The relationship of trust and confidence has been broken, and whatever job jeopardy the employee previously worried about can pale in comparison to the investigation trauma caused by the trader.  

Bitcoin miner’s claim to recover £600m in Newport tip thrown out

A judge has thrown out a man’s attempt to sue a council to recover from a rubbish tip a Bitcoin hard drive that is now worth about £598m.

James Howells had argued that his former partner had mistakenly dumped the hard drive containing a Bitcoin wallet in 2013, and he wanted to access the site and recover the cryptocurrency.

But Newport council asked a High Court judge to strike out Mr Howells’ legal action to access the landfill or get £495m in compensation. Judge Keyser KC said there were no “reasonable grounds” for bringing the claim and “no realistic prospect” of succeeding at a full trial.

Reacting to the decision, Mr Howells said he was “very upset”.

Bayview Asset Management Enters Into $20 Million Settlement Over Cybersecurity Weaknesses

Mortgage company Bayview Asset Management will face a $20 million penalty over a data breach and its alleged failure to cooperate with regulators in the aftermath.

Bayview, a Coral Gables, Fla.-based investment manager that owns mortgage-servicing firms, had deficient information technology practices and suffered a 2021 data breach that affected 5.8 million customers, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors said Wednesday. Bayview then failed to cooperate with regulators as they sought information, said CSBS, an organization that represents financial regulators in U.S. states and territories.

Agencies in 53 jurisdictions, led by regulators in California, Maryland, North Carolina and Washington state, took coordinated action against Bayview, which entered into a settlement, CSBS said.

Crypto CEOs Fly to Mar-a-Lago, Make Large Donations as Inauguration Day Nears

Mar-a-Lago has hosted a steady stream of crypto hopefuls since Trump’s reelection in November.

Last month, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss crypto industry appointments and regulations. Earlier this week, Brad Garlinghouse and Stu Alderoty had dinner with Trump and discussed the industry at large as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against the company, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

Brian Armstrong of Coinbase Global Inc., the largest crypto exchange in the US, has also spoken with Trump in recent weeks. Coinbase, rival exchange Kraken, and startup Ondo have all pledged $1 million to the president-elect’s inaugural committee. Ripple said in December it planned to donate $5 million worth of XRP tokens.

The industry is also hosting an event in Washington on Jan. 17 in support of the incoming administration. Dubbed the “Inaugural Crypto Ball” and featuring a ticket price of $2,500, the event is being put on as a collaboration among David Bailey’s BTC Inc. and the Coinbase-supported advocacy organization Stand with Crypto alongside Anchorage Digital, Bitcoin wallet developer Exodus and Kraken. Other sponsors include Coinbase, Ondo, crypto wallet MetaMask and asset manager Galaxy.

Enron Is Back. Could This Possibly Be Real?

Still, Mr. Gaydos is committed to Enron, or at least to the bit. I talked to him on Thursday, and when he said, “I genuinely believe that Enron is one of America’s top brands, up there with Coca-Cola, Nike and Levi’s,” it was with an earnestness that makes you almost believe him, or at least want to.

“It had an amazing legacy,” he said, “prior to the debacle.”

Mr. Gaydos bought the Enron trademark for $275. At first glance, Enron would seem like one of the least likely trademarks in history to be revived. In the late 1990s, the energy company was a smashing success, with annual revenues of more than $100 billion and ample influence in Washington.

But it turned out the profits were built on sand: overuse of loopholes, shifting money around, and misreporting. Executives were convicted. The company was gone.

Until now, that is. Kind of. “I’ve heard a lot about what happened and how terrible it was,” Mr. Gaydos said of Enron’s previous life. “I’m not excusing it, but I think that at this point we deserve a second chance.”

In general, the “reborn” Enron is not strong on humility, as its website declares it (already) “the world’s leading company.”