Articles Posted in SEC Enforcement Actions

SEC Charges Florida-Based Lawyer with Forging Attorney Opinion Letters for Microcap Stocks The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced charges against a Florida-based securities lawyer for issuing fraudulent attorney opinion letters that resulted in more than 70 million shares of microcap stock becoming available for unrestricted trading by investors. An attorney opinion letter is required…

SEC Charges Prominent Entrepreneur in Miami-Based Scheme The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a prominent Miami-based entrepreneur with defrauding investors by grossly exaggerating the financial success of his company that purportedly produced housing materials to withstand fires and hurricanes. Claudio Osorio stole nearly half of the money raised from investors to pay the mortgage…

In the Matter of Angelo A. Alleca On November 29, 2012, the Commission issued an Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 203(f) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions against Angelo A. Alleca (Alleca) based on the entry…

SEC Charges Two Brokers With Insider Trading Ahead of IBM-SPSS Merger for $1 Million Profit The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged two retail brokers who formerly worked at a Connecticut-based broker-dealer with insider trading on nonpublic information ahead of IBM Corporation’s acquisition of SPSS Inc. The SEC alleges that Thomas C. Conradt learned confidential…

SEC Charges Chicago-Based Investment Adviser With Defrauding Investors in Failing Private Equity Fund The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a Chicago-based investment adviser and his firm with defrauding clients and others who were promised returns that would “beat the market” for investing in a private equity fund they managed. What investors didn’t know was…

SEC v. Joseph P. Cillo: The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) recently announced that the Honorable James D. Whittemore, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa has entered final judgment against defendant Joseph P. Cillo (“Cillo”) of Dade City, Florida. The judgment permanently enjoins Cillo from further violations of Section…

In the Matter of Anand Sekaran: On November 30, 2012, the Commission issued an Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 203(f) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions (Order) against Anand Sekaran (Sekaran). On November 26, 2012, the…

Defendant in SEC Action Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges and is Barred from the Securities Industry The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that Arnett L. Waters of Milton, Massachusetts, a principal of a broker-dealer and investment adviser who is a defendant in a securities fraud action filed by the Commission in May 2012, has…

Former Fair Finance Company CEO Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Conducting $200 Million Fraud Scheme The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) announced that on November 30, 2012, Timothy S. Durham, former CEO of Ohio-based Fair Finance Company (Fair Finance), was sentenced to 50 years in prison for orchestrating a $200 million scheme that…

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged three health care company employees and four others in a New Jersey-based insider trading ring of various high school friends generating $1.7 million in illegal profits and kickbacks by trading in advance of 11 public announcements involving mergers, a drug approval application, and quarterly earnings of pharmaceutical companies…