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Capital Markets
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March 28, 2024
8th Circ. Won't Revive Fannie, Freddie Investors' FHFA Suit
The Eighth Circuit on Thursday refused to revive Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac investors' suit alleging the Federal Housing Finance Agency's leadership and financial deals violated the U.S. Constitution, saying the investors failed to show how they were harmed by the now-upended restrictions on removing the agency's director.
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March 28, 2024
Wells Fargo Sued Over Role In Texas Atty's Carbon Tech Scam
Wells Fargo and an advisory group including an attorney and accountant from California facilitated a yearslong Ponzi scheme that deceived investors to put money into a fraudulent gas industry carbon capture technology venture, according to a proposed class action filed in Texas federal court.
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March 28, 2024
FTX Investors To Settle With Ex-Execs, Crypto Promoters
Investors who launched a multidistrict litigation over cryptocurrency exchange FTX's collapse have reached a set of settlements with the former inner circle of founder Sam Bankman-Fried as well as seven promoters who, together, have agreed to pay over $1.3 million to resolve claims that they boosted a massive fraud scheme at the company.
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March 28, 2024
Feds Say Ex-OneCoin Atty Should Serve 'Substantial' Time
Manhattan federal prosecutors have requested a "substantial" amount of prison time for a Bulgarian woman who worked on the legal team at the fraudulent OneCoin cryptocurrency exchange, but said the sentence should fall below the guidelines range of 10 years.
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March 28, 2024
SEC Settles Suit For Docs Over Potential Crypto Conflicts
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and government watchdog Empower Oversight have agreed to end a suit that sought to force the regulator to hand over documents the watchdog claimed may provide insight into potential conflicts of interest affecting the SEC's digital asset dealings.
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March 28, 2024
PwC Fined $3M Over Auditor Controls, Australia Probe
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board leveled a pair of fines totaling more than $3 million against PwC on Thursday, accusing the Big Four accounting firm of failing to maintain policies to ensure auditor independence and of waiting years to inform the U.S. regulator that it was being investigated in Australia.
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March 28, 2024
Chancery Tosses Mixmax Derivative Suit
A stockholder who filed a derivative suit against two Mixmax Inc. directors without first notifying the company's board has failed to prove that a majority of the board was too compromised to respond to the shareholder's concerns, so the lawsuit must be dismissed, a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled.
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March 28, 2024
Conservative Org Takes Second Shot At PCAOB In Texas
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has been hit with a second lawsuit accusing it of operating unconstitutionally by an anonymous firm staring down a regulatory investigation, with the suit filed in Texas by the same conservative legal group that had its earlier case against the board transferred out of the state.
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March 28, 2024
Auto Parts Mogul Must Face Lender's $127M Trust Fraud Suit
An auto parts mogul must face allegations that he tampered with assets in a trust that owes hundreds of millions of dollars to a lending agent, a Michigan federal judge said this week after ruling the lender has plausibly alleged the mogul made fraudulent transfers to hinder the debt repayment.
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March 28, 2024
Film Producer, 2 Cos. To Pay SEC $3.5M In ICO Scheme
A Georgia federal judge on Thursday signed off on a $3.5 million penalty levied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against two failed cryptocurrency ventures and the Atlanta film producer who promoted them through a pump-and-dump scheme.
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March 28, 2024
Commodities Trader Trafigura To Pay $126M For Brazil Bribes
Switzerland-based Trafigura Beheer BV on Thursday agreed to pay $126 million and admitted to bribing Brazilian government officials in order to obtain business with state oil company Petrobras, becoming the latest global commodities trader to settle with U.S. prosecutors over Latin American corruption.
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March 28, 2024
Chancery Dismisses Carvana Shareholders' Stock Offer Suit
Delaware's Court of Chancery has dismissed a derivative suit from stockholders of online used car retailer Carvana who sued the company's founders over a $600 million direct stock offering, finding that a two-person special litigation committee that the company created to investigate the matter had done its job properly.
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March 28, 2024
Bankman-Fried Gets 25 Years For 'Very Bad Bet' Of FTX Fraud
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for stealing more than $11 billion from customers, investors and lenders of his now-collapsed cryptocurrency empire, with a Manhattan federal judge saying the infamous risk-taker "made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught."
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March 27, 2024
No New Trial For Hedge Fund Boss In Forex Rigging Case
A New York federal judge on Friday refused to acquit or call for a new trial for a U.K.-based hedge fund chief convicted of illegally manipulating a currency exchange rate, rejecting his argument that his alleged conduct lacked sufficient ties to the United States.
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March 27, 2024
9th Circ. Revives Claims Against Apple In Crypto Theft Row
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday partially reinstated a putative class action accusing Apple of misrepresenting the safety of its App Store after users' cryptocurrency was stolen from an app, finding that while a federal tech immunity law shielded Apple from an array of fraud and wiretapping claims, three consumer protection claims could move forward.
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March 27, 2024
Video Streamer Escapes Crypto Token Holder's Fraud Suit
A New York federal judge has permanently tossed a suit accusing video streaming service Open Props Inc. and its executives of misrepresenting to investors that it would become a decentralized blockchain network following the sale of its native cryptocurrency tokens.
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March 27, 2024
BlackRock's Non-ESG Funds Have Green Agenda, Miss. Says
Mississippi's secretary of state announced Wednesday that it intends to fine BlackRock multiple millions of dollars, alleging the asset manager has repeatedly made false and misleading statements about its involvement in "pushing" environmental, social and corporate governance factors on portfolio companies.
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March 27, 2024
Energy Co. Origis Exits Investor Suit Over Devalued Shares
Renewable energy company Origis USA Inc. has escaped a suit by former shareholders after a New York federal judge concluded that the plaintiffs failed to show that the company was privy to an alleged scheme by its now-former CEO to induce them to sell their stakes for considerably less than the $1.4 billion they were later sold for.
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March 27, 2024
Latham, Cooley Steer Oncology Firm's $100M IPO
Clinical-stage oncology firm Boundless Bio Inc. raised a $100 million initial public offering at the middle of its price range late on Wednesday, represented by Latham & Watkins LLP and underwriters' counsel Cooley LLP, joining a potentially recovering IPO market.
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March 27, 2024
Binance Says Fla. Suspension Order Violates Due Process
Binance on Wednesday told a Florida appeals court that state regulators wrongly suspended its license to operate as a money transmitter, saying an emergency order issued earlier this year telling the cryptocurrency exchange to cease operations wasn't sufficiently justified and violates due process.
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March 27, 2024
Backers Of Trump-Tied SPAC Sue To Confirm Manager Purge
Investors behind the sponsor of the special-purpose acquisition company that took Donald Trump's Truth Social public sued its managing member, seeking a declaration from the Delaware Chancery Court that they have validly removed him from his post and that he has no authority to act on their behalf.
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March 27, 2024
Coinbase Denied Early Victory Over SEC Enforcement Action
A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday rejected crypto exchange Coinbase's bid to defeat the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's claims that it operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.
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March 27, 2024
COVID Prompted Equity Plan Edit, Raytheon Tells Chancery
Raytheon Technologies Corp. amended employee compensation plans in early 2020 to mitigate "head-spinning unprecedented volatility" from the COVID-19 pandemic, and a shareholder's allegations that directors acted in bad faith by failing to seek stockholder approval should be dismissed, the aerospace company told Delaware's Court of Chancery on Wednesday.
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March 27, 2024
3 Firms Vie To Lead Instacart Pre-IPO Action
Levi & Korsinsky LLP, Pomerantz LLP and The Rosen Law Firm PA have each asked a California federal judge to lead a securities lawsuit against grocery delivery company Instacart for allegedly misrepresenting its growth potential in the lead-up to its initial public offering.
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March 27, 2024
Smith Gambrell Sued For Keeping $4.6M In Real Estate Row
Several business entities involved in the failed purchase of a Brooklyn development property contend that Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP is unlawfully refusing to release more than $4.6 million that the firm is holding in escrow, according to a complaint filed in New York state court.
Expert Analysis
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How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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8 Ways To Negotiate Improved Disgorgement Outcomes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's nearly $3.4 billion collected in disgorgements in 2023 shows that substantial disgorgement claims from regulators and law enforcement are the new norm, but corporations may be able to dramatically reduce what they owe by using eight strategies to argue for reduced net profit calculations, say experts at AlixPartners.
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How The NY AG Leads Investigations In Civil Securities Fraud
Although investigating white collar fraud can put significant strain on state and local resources, the New York Attorney General's Office has continued to use its expansive statutory authority to take a leading role in bringing civil enforcement actions in highly complex financial matters, say Carrie Cohen and Nathan Reilly at MoFo.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape
The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
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What Banks Should Know About FDIC Assessment Rule
Max Bonici at Venable answers questions banking organizations may have about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent approval of a rule implementing a special assessment on banks to recoup costs associated with protecting uninsured depositors after the bank failures earlier this year, and highlights other considerations for uninsured deposits.
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Series
Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
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The SEC's Cooled Down But Still Spicy Private Fund Rules
Timothy Spangler and Lindsay Trapp at Dechert consider recently finalized U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules, which significantly alter the scope of obligations private fund advisers must meet under the Investment Advisers Act, noting the absence of several contentious proposals and litigation that could result in implementation delays.
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Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct
The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.
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High Court's Chevron Review May Be A Crypto Game-Changer
The outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court's review of the Chevron doctrine in its pending Loper v. Raimondo case will potentially usher in a paradigm shift in cryptocurrency regulation, challenging agency authority and raising hopes for a recalibrated approach that favors judicial interpretation, says Sylvia Favretto at Mysten Labs.
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Opinion
Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
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'Paper Tiger' Finds Its Fangs: Repeat Offenders And The CFPB
Following the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent imposition of structural remedies on Enova for repeat offenses, financial institutions, especially those that have previously been subject to consent orders, need to carefully consider their options when facing future enforcement proceedings with the CFPB, says Caitlin Mandel at Winston & Strawn.
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Opinion
Activist Short-Sellers Are The Dark Knights Of Wall Street
While so-called activist short-sellers have been subject to increased scrutiny in recent years, these investors work in the shadows like Batman to expose fraud on Wall Street, often generating leads that may move regulators to take action, say attorneys at Labaton Sucharow.
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New Regs Will Strengthen Voluntary Carbon Offset Market
Voluntary carbon offsets are a vital tool for organizations seeking to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions — and recent efforts by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state of California and others are essential to enhancing the reliability and authenticity of carbon credits, says David Smith at Manatt.
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How FinCEN's Proposed Rule Stirs The Pot On Crypto Mixing
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s recently issued proposal aims to impose additional reporting requirements to mitigate the risks posed by convertible virtual currency mixing transactions, meaning financial institutions may need new monitoring techniques to detect CVC mixing beyond just exposure, say Jared Johnson and Jordan Yeagley at Buchanan Ingersoll.
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Series
Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.