The air of uncertainty was palpable as current and former members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Enforcement spoke at the Securities Regulation Institute’s 44th Annual Conference in Coronado, California earlier this week.  Important questions went largely unanswered about the impact of the recent resignations of both SEC Chair Mary Jo White and Enforcement Director Andrew J. Ceresney, and the future direction of the enforcement program under the new presidential administration and proposed SEC Chair Jay Clayton.  SEC Enforcement staff in attendance steered clear of prognostications, and instead used the conference as an opportunity to reiterate the agency’s ongoing enforcement initiatives and successes from the past year.
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SEC and DOJ Targeting Fraud Involving Pre-IPO Companies

Historically regulators have been reluctant to interfere with the complex world of pre-IPO  financing and private market transactions, which tend to involve the most sophisticated investors.  However, several recent public statements make it clear that both the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are focused on finding fraud and other civil and criminal violations at private Silicon Valley companies.  Citing multiple ongoing investigations, Northern California representatives from both the DOJ and the SEC boldly predicted a notable increase in criminal prosecutions (DOJ) and civil enforcement actions (SEC) within the next year.
Continue Reading Silicon Valley in the Cross-Hairs