December 6, 2016
San Francisco-based firm Equidate Inc. will pay $80,000 to settle charges that it violated federal securities laws by failing to register security-based swaps that were offered and sold online to shareholders in pre-IPO companies. The SEC’s order finds that Equidate sought to provide liquidity for employees of private, growth-stage companies in Silicon Valley and others holding restricted shares of their stock by using a platform to match these shareholders with investors seeking to invest in the potential economic return on those shares. Equidate conducted transactions through contracts that its subsidiary entered into with the shareholders and investors, and payment provisions were triggered by such events as a merger, acquisition, or IPO at the underlying company. But Equidate never filed a registration statement for the swaps not sold through a national securities exchange as required. SEC
Tagged in: Securities Fraud,