1. Home
  2. Practices
  3. Whistleblower Representation
  4. Recent Government Enforcement
  5. SEC Enforcement Actions
Have a Claim?

Click here for a confidential contact or call:

1-212-350-2774 
								
			


								
						
			


								
			

	
Whistleblower Quiz

	
Would you blow the whistle?

 Take our Quiz


									
	
						

		

			
			

				

					
SEC Enforcement Actions

					
The  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the United States agency with primary responsibility for enforcing federal securities laws. Whistleblowers with knowledge of violations of the federal securities laws can submit a claim to the SEC under the SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, and may be eligible to receive  monetary rewards and protection against retaliation by employers.


Below are summaries of recent SEC settlements or successful prosecutions. If you believe you have information about fraud which could give  rise to an SEC enforcement action and claim under the SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, please contact us to speak with one of our experienced whistleblower attorneys.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
April 11, 2016

				 The SEC announced fraud charges against Texas-based technology company Servergy Inc. and its founder and former CEO William Mapp III for boosting company stock sales with false claims about a supposedly revolutionary computer server and purported purchases by big-name companies.  The SEC alleges that Servergy and Mapp sold $26 million worth of stock in private offerings while misleading investors to believe that the “Cleantech CTS-1000” server (the company’s sole product) was especially energy efficient and would compete directly with top server makers like IBM, Dell, and Hewlett Packard.  In fact, 32-bit processors like the CTS-1000 were being phased out of the industry and could not compete with the high-performance 64-bit processors being produced by competitors.  In addition, the SEC alleges that when Servergy was low on operating funds, Mapp enticed prospective investors to purchase by falsely claiming well-known companies, such as Amazon, had placed orders for the servers.  In fact, an Amazon employee had merely contacted Servergy about testing the product for his personal use.  Servergy will pay $200,000 to settle the SEC’s charges.  The litigation against Mapp continues in the Eastern District of Texas.  Also charged in the SEC’s complaint is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and a former member of Servergy’s board of director, Caleb White.  The SEC alleges that Paxton and White recruited investors for Servergy while hiding that they were being compensated to promote the company’s stock.  White will pay $66,000 to settle the charges.  SEC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 7, 2016

				 Resort company Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) will pay $9 million to settle charges of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  An SEC investigation found that LVS kept inaccurate books and records and frequently lacked supporting documentation or proper approvals for more than $62 million in payments to a consultant in Asia.  The consultant acted as an intermediary to obscure the company’s role in certain business transactions, such as the purchase of a basketball team to play in the Chinese Basketball Association (which does not permit gaming companies to own team) or the purchase of a building in Beijing from a state-owned company (where casino gambling is not permitted).  SEC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCPA, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 4, 2016

				 The SEC announced charges against four individuals for fraud against victims including seniors solicited through free dinners at a Tampa, Florida restaurant.  The SEC alleges that Philadelphia residents Joseph Andrew Paul and John D. Ellis, Jr. lied about the track record of their advisory firm, including by creating fraudulent marketing materials with performance numbers cut-and-pasted from another firm’s website.  Paul and Ellis recruited Donald Ellison and James Quay to use these materials and solicit potential victims with promises of lofty returns.  The SEC alleges that much of the money was never invested, but rather split between the four men.  SEC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 31, 2016

				 Commercial vehicle manufacturer Navistar International Corp. will pay $7.5 million to settle charges that it misled investors about its development of an advanced technology truck engine that could be certified to meet U.S. standards.  Separately, the SEC has filed charges in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois against Navistar’s former CEO Daniel Ustian.  The SEC alleges that Navistar and Ustian failed to fully disclose the difficulties Navistar was having gaining EPA certification that its truck engine, designed using “exhaust-gas-recirculation” technology, met stricter Clean Air Act standards which took effect in 2010.  SEC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 30, 2016

				 Biotech venture capitalist G. Steven Burrill and his firm, Burrill Capital Management, will pay $5.785 million to settle charges that Burrill siphoned money from the Burrill Life Sciences Capital Fund III under the guise of “advanced” management fees to fund his lavish lifestyle.  The SEC’s order also found Burrill Capital Management’s Chief Legal Officer and Controller to have played integral roles in Burrill’s scheme.  They will pay $275,000 combined to settle the SEC’s charges.  SEC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 29, 2016

				 AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc. will pay $4 million to settle charges that it mislead investors about its efforts to obtain FDA approval for Tivozanib, its flagship developmental drug to treat kidney cancer.  The SEC alleges that AVEO concealed the FDA’s level of concern about Tivozanib in public statements to investors by omitting the critical fact that FDA staff had recommended a second clinical trial to address concerns about patient death rates during the first clinical trial.  When the FDA made public months later that it had recommended an additional clinical trial, the company’s stock price declined 31 percent.  AVEO never conducted an additional trial and the FDA later refused to approve Tivozanib.  The SEC also filed charges against AVEO’s former CEO, CFO, and CMO.  These charges remain outstanding.  SEC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Misrepresentations, 
													  Securities Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 29, 2016

				 Former market analyst and TV news commentator Tobin Smith and his company NBT Group Inc. will pay over $250,000 to settle charges that they fraudulently promoted a penny stock to investors.  The SEC alleged that Smith and NBT were paid to prepare and disseminate communications touting the stock of IceWEB Inc., a data storage company.  Smith and NBT did not fully disclose their compensation to investors.  In addition, the promotional material contained false and misleading statements intended to artificially increase the trading volume and share price of IceWEB’s stock.  SEC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Misrepresentations, 
													  Securities Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 28, 2016

				 The SEC charged New York-based securities professional Andrew W.W. Caspersen with soliciting approximately $95 million from two institutional investors by offering promissory notes issued by Irving Place III SPV LLC.  The SEC alleges that Irving Place III SPV LLC is a shell entity formed and controlled by Caspersen with no legitimate business operations, unlike the similarly named Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV which is not associated with Caspersen in any way.  Caspersen obtained a $25 million investment in November 2015 from an institutional investor by falsely representing that the investment would be secured by approximately $900 million of assets of Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV.  SEC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Misrepresentations, 
													  Securities Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 25, 2016

				 The SEC brought fraud charges and obtained asset freezes against New Jersey fund manager John Bivona and his firms Saddle River Advisors and SRA Management Associates for marketing shares in promising pre-IPO tech companies in the Bay Area while stealing $5.7 million and diverting millions more to other improper and undisclosed uses.  The SEC alleges that Bivona used money raised through his firms to pay off earlier investors, prop up other funds, and pay family-related expenses.  He secretly steered the lion’s share of misappropriated funds to his nephew Frank Mazzola who was barred from the securities industry in a prior SEC enforcement action.  The SEC alleges that while Bivona raised more than $53 million from investors, the money he siphoned away for undisclosed uses left his firms continuously short of the cash needed to buy the shares promised to investors.  SEC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Misrepresentations, 
													  Regulatory Violations, 
													  Securities Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 15, 2016

				 The SEC charged former Boston resident Mark A. Jones with operating a $10 million Ponzi scheme that claimed to generate profits from “bridge loans” to businesses in Jamaica.  Jones was arrested by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts has filed related criminal charges against him.  SEC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Ponzi Schemes, 
													  Securities Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
1
…
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
…
108
								

						

					

												
		
 
	
 

 



	


	

		

			

								
							
Learn about Whistleblower Rewards Programs
			
	
		

		
	
			

									

													False Claims Act					  							State & Local False Claims Acts					  							SEC Program					  							CFTC Program					  							IRS Program					  					

								See More			
	
		

	
		

	




	


	

		

			

				

					

						
Newsletter

						
Subscribe to receive email updates from the Constantine Cannon blogs

					
	
				
	
			
	
			
	
				
Sign up for: