Recidivism... Not a Pretty Name, is it Oracle? SEC Sues Oracle Again for FCPA Violations

SEC Charges Oracle a Second Time for Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices ActThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges requiring Oracle Corporation to pay over $23 million to resolve charges that it violated provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) when subsidiaries in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and India created and used slush funds to bribe foreign officials in return for business between 2016 and 2019.

According to the SEC’s order, Oracle subsidiaries in Turkey and UAE also used the slush funds to pay for foreign officials to attend technology conferences in violation of Oracle policies and procedures. The order found that in some instances, employees of the Turkey subsidiary used these funds for the officials’ families to accompany them on international conferences or take side trips to California.

he SEC previously sanctioned Oracle in connection with the creation of slush funds. In 2012, Oracle resolved charges relating to the creation of millions of dollars of side funds by Oracle India, which created the risk that those funds could be used for illicit purposes.

SEC Charges Father-Son Duo and Associate in Market Manipulation Schemes Resulting in a New Jersey Deli with a $100 Million Valuation

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Peter L. Coker Sr., Peter L. Coker Jr., and James T. Patten for their roles in orchestrating fraudulent manipulative securities trading schemes. These schemes included artificially inflating the share price of Hometown International, which operated a New Jersey deli producing less than $40,000 in annual revenue, from approximately $1 per share in October 2019 to nearly $14 per share by April 2021, leading to a grossly inflated market capitalization of $100 million.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Patten, Coker Sr., and Coker Jr., who was the former Chairman of the Board of Hometown International, took control of the outstanding shares of Hometown International and a separate shell company, E-Waste Corp., artificially inflated the price of both issuers’ stock through manipulative trading, and used the entities to acquire privately-held companies in reverse mergers, with the intent to thereafter dump their shares at grossly inflated prices. Before the defendants were able to reap the intended profits of the schemes, as alleged, numerous news articles were published discussing the issuers’ inflated stock prices.

Crypto Fugitive Terra’s Do Kwon Says He Isn’t Hiding After Interpol Red Notice

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, who faces South Korean charges over a $60 billion cryptocurrency wipeout, denied he’s in hiding after authorities said Interpol had issued a red notice for his arrest.

Kwon took to Twitter on Monday to say that he’s “making zero effort to hide,” adding “I go on walks and malls.” Prosecutors in Seoul earlier said Interpol had requested law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest the fallen 31-year-old crypto entrepreneur.

Elon Musk files appeal to end SEC decree over Twitter posts

Elon Musk on Wednesday appealed a judge’s refusal to end his 2018 agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requiring a Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) lawyer to vet some of his posts on Twitter.

According to a court filing, Musk will ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to overturn the April 27 decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman allowing his consent decree with the SEC to stand. read more The SEC declined to comment.

The decree resolved an SEC lawsuit accusing Musk of defrauding investors by tweeting on Aug. 7, 2018, that he had “funding secured” to take his electric car company private, though a buyout was not close.

Tether’s Former Auditor Fined $1M by SEC for Sloppy Accounting

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed and settled charges last week against Friedman LLP, the former auditing firm of stablecoin issuer Tether, finding “serial violations of the federal securities laws” and numerous instances of “improper professional conduct,” according to an order published Monday.

In the SEC’s investigation of Friedman LLP’s audits of two publicly traded companies, Chinese grocery chain iFresh and another, unnamed company, the auditor was found to have lied about conducting its audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

The SEC’s order, issued Friday, details sloppy accounting practices that were common at Friedman LLP from 2015 to 2020, including its failure to “respond to fraud risks” and “exercise due professional care and professional skepticism,” among other things, the order said.

Eight states file action against Nexo crypto-lending platform

Eight states announced on Monday they’re bringing actions against the crypto-lending platform Nexo Group in connection with its unregistered, interest-bearing cryptocurrency product.

State regulators in California, Kentucky, New York, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington and Vermont allege Nexo offered customers interest-earning accounts without first registering them as securities and providing necessary disclosures. Without access to these financial statements, state regulators contend investors cannot make informed investment decisions.

The filings also alleged that Nexo misrepresented the accounts and suggested to investors that it is a licensed and registered platform. These interest-earning accounts, known as “Earn Interest Product,” allowed investors to deposit assets with Nexo in exchange for earning yields as high as 36% on their deposits, according to one of the filings.

SEC Charges Company Executives with Insider Trading for Allegedly Setting Up 10b5-1 Trading Plan While in Possession of MNPI

The case is a reminder of the SEC’s ability to build insider trading cases in seemingly challenging circumstances:  the Company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in China, both defendants reside in China, and they conducted their trading through a British Virgin Islands company.  Although the Order does not detail how the SEC built its case, geography does not seem to have been a limitation.  The fact that the trading occurred in Cheetah Mobile ADSs also did not hinder the SEC, indicating the agency will not hesitate to enforce the insider trading laws in cases involving trading in only ADSs that reference a foreign company’s foreign shares.