SEC and CFTC Moving in Together?

SEC, CFTC Weigh Move to Same Washington Building Complex Near Capitol

Wall Street’s two top regulators are discussing plans to move into the same building complex in Washington just steps from the US Capitol, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — which oversee different markets — wouldn’t be merged under the plan, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential efforts. The discussions involve moving the CFTC into the same complex where the SEC is currently located near Union Station.

The move, which has been discussed since last year, likely wouldn’t occur until 2027 at the earliest, according to the people. The General Services Administration, the agency that oversees federal real estate, is also involved in the discussions.

Did SCOTUS Just Strip FINRA’s Regulatory Immunity?

One of many absurdities securities regulators have sold to federal courts over the years is the notion that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and other industry self-regulatory organizations (“SROs”) are simultaneously (1) private corporations under no obligation to comply with the Constitution yet (2) absolutely immune from liability for regulatory overreach and misconduct as if they were part of the federal government.

In other words, “heads I win, tails you lose.”

Last week, in a case having nothing to do with securities law, the Supreme Court may have put an end to this egregiously inequitable state of affairs.

SEC Ends Case Against Crypto Billionaire Justin Sun

The US Securities and Exchange Commission said it will end its lawsuit against crypto billionaire Justin Sun and a firm affiliated with him will pay $10 million, as the regulator continues to resolve the spate of digital asset enforcement cases brought during the Biden administration.

The SEC sued Sun in 2023, alleging he committed securities fraud and bilked investors by working with companies he owned and controlled — the Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., and Rainberry Inc. — to sell unregistered securities.

The regulator said at the time that Sun artificially boosted the trading volume of Tronix, the native cryptocurrency of the Tron network, by directing employees to conduct more than 600,000 so-called “wash trades” of the token between crypto accounts he controlled.

The SEC said it would drop all claims against Sun under the settlement plan. A lawyer for the agency called the proposal “fair and reasonable” in a letter.

First Brands Ex-CFO Stephen Graham Pleads Guilty to Fraud

Former First Brands Group Chief Financial Officer Stephen Graham pleaded guilty over a massive fraud that drove the auto-parts supply firm into bankruptcy, and he will testify against company founder Patrick James and his brother Edward at their criminal trial.

Graham, 68, entered his plea Monday before US District Judge Analisa Torres to four counts, including bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit those crimes between 2018 and 2025. He became the second high-level executive to plead guilty, and he could give jurors a roadmap into a fraud that caused billions of dollars in losses.