SEC Charges Four Individuals With Fraudulent Scheme to Trade in Advance of Follow-On Offerings

SEC Charges Four Individuals for Long-Running Scheme to Unlawfully Trade in Advance of Numerous Follow-On Offerings

The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed fraud charges against John Lowe, Randy Grewal, Richard Ringel, and David Cooper arising from their longstanding fraudulent scheme to trade in advance of the public announcement of the timing or price, or both, of numerous follow-on offerings of NASDAQ-listed issuers.

According to the SEC’s complaint, the defendants engaged in the following arrangement: Cooper, a registered representative at a broker-dealer with frequent access to material, nonpublic information about the timing or price, or both, of follow-on offerings, provided this information to Ringel, while Cooper’s colleague shared similar information with Lowe. As alleged, Lowe then provided this information to Grewal. Then, Ringel, Lowe, and Grewal and their associated entities used the information to short issuers in advance of numerous follow-on offerings before they were publicly announced, making hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit profits. The complaint alleges that in exchange for the material, non-public information that they received, Lowe and Ringel agreed to buy shares of stock in follow-on offerings that the broker-dealer was selling, which resulted in substantial compensation for Cooper.

Wall Street’s Pre-Eminent Short Seller Is Calling It Quits

Nate Anderson, the short seller who wiped billions of dollars off the market values of companies including Nikola and Icahn Enterprises, is shutting down his firm, Hindenburg Research. He cited the toll the work took on his well-being.

“I’ve spent most of the last eight years either in a fight or preparing for the next one,” he said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Anderson said he felt that he and Hindenburg had accomplished what they had set out to do, showing it was possible to build a business from hunting fraud and other issues in public and private markets. He hopes to share resources and training materials soon so others can use Hindenburg’s tactics in their own investigations.

Crypto litigation brought against the SEC and the implications of a new administration

As discussed in our prior columns, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pursued a multitude of enforcement actions concerning the purchase and sale of crypto assets. These matters have expanded to encompass a broad swath of activity and have engendered substantial uncertainty and criticism from members of the digital asset industry and beyond.

Now, some states, nonprofits and industry participants have begun to proactively file lawsuits against the SEC seeking injunctive and other relief relating to a host of securities-related issues. The impact of these suits remains to be seen.[…]

Below is a summary of some recent actions brought against the SEC, as well as a look at what the change in administration may mean for the SEC’s ongoing approach.

’Big Four Fear’ Cycle Ramps Up for Law Firms as KPMG Moves to US

One thing is certain following news that KPMG is poised to obtain a license to operate an Arizona-based law firm: Here comes another fear cycle.

If you’ve been following the law firm innovation space for more than a few years, you are familiar with the foreboding. The Big Four are at the door. Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and EY are huge—in terms of people and resources. They are really good at technology and “client service.” And whether they say it or not, they are coming for Big Law.