Decision Day for Elon Musk in SEC's Twitter Investigation?

Musk has until Monday to respond to SEC Twitter settlement, source says

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given Elon Musk until Monday to respond to an offer to resolve a probe into the billionaire’s $44-billion takeover of Twitter in 2022, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The development, which signals the investigation may be nearing a conclusion, is the latest salvo in a year-long public feud between the top U.S. markets regulator and the world’s richest man.

Holiday Wish List for the SEC’s Enforcement Program in 2025

As we all put our finishing touches on our holiday wish lists, a few of mine for incoming #SEC Chair Paul Atkins w/r/t the SEC’s Enforcement Program in 2025. In my view, the following will not only improve communication on agency expectations to the market, but also provide tangible evidence that the division isn’t solely focused on shiny enforcement stats.

— Increased Use of 21(a) Reports for Critical Issues: The SEC has only issued 18 21(a) reports of investigations (where no charges are filed but the Commission highlights important issues) since the first one in 1996. The Commission has not issued any in six years (the 2018 business email compromise report). Instead of filing enforcement actions for novel issues, issue more 21(a) reports to help guide the market on key, evolving issues.

— Update the SEC Enforcement Manual: The 1972 Wells Committee Report advised that the SEC enforcement manual should be “periodically updated and redistributed.” It’s been seven years since the last update. An update will provide a great opportunity to supplement/improve upon key topics (such as attorney-client privilege) and better inform practitioners and outsiders alike on enforcement viewpoints….

What can we expect from the SEC in 2025?

What can we expect from the SEC in 2025? The speculation ranges from the SEC will be shut down to a skeleton crew with little enforcement to the SEC will pare back enforcement from novel areas but largely keep doing its bread and butter fraud cases as part of its business as usual.

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For instance, will the new administration effectively non-enforce or repeal the SEC’s cybersecurity risk governance and 4 day reporting rule for major cybersecurity incidents? Will the SEC wait and see how AI disclosures develop and assess whether investors largely view these disclosures as material? Will the SEC still impose corporate penalties in a financial reporting case if the company’s tone at the top was weak, the company had severely ineffective controls, and the misconduct was widespread and reached the highest levels of management? How will the SEC handle insider trading in the context of alternative data sources and AI models?

Ex-NS8 CEO Banned From Leading Companies After Fraud Sentencing

Former cyberfraud prevention company CEO Adam Rogas is permanently banned from serving as an officer or director of a public company, a federal judge has ruled.“

A permanent bar is needed in order to protect the public, deter further misconduct, and lend confidence to the public and the financial markets,” Judge Richard M. Berman said in his Thursday order.

Rogas willfully defrauded investors by falsifying bank statements, making it appear NS8 was generating millions in revenue with tens of millions of dollars in assets on hand, said the US District Court for the Southern District of New York judge….