Apple, Google Take Flak Over App Platforms

Apple and Google came under attack at a U.S. Senate antitrust hearing, with one witness describing Apple’s app platform as an “iron-fisted monopoly.”Representatives of the tech giants told U.S. senators on Wednesday that the companies’ tight control over their app stores and the associated commis...

By Matthew Heller • April 22, 2021

House OKs Bill to Make Weed Banking Legal

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at enabling financial institutions to do business with cannabis companies in legal marijuana states.The SAFE Banking Act, which passed the House on a 321-101 vote on Monday, creates a safe harbor from being prosecuted by a federal banking ...

By Matthew Heller • April 20, 2021

Ex-Goldman Analyst Barred for Insider Trading

A former Goldman Sachs analyst who traded shares in two companies after learning that a colleague was upgrading his recommendation on the firms has been barred from working in the securities industry.The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said Tuesday that Brian Maguire had accepted the indu...

By Matthew Heller • April 20, 2021

Florida Sues to Lift Ban on U.S. Cruise Sailings

The state of Florida has filed a lawsuit to get cruise ships sailing again, saying the federal lockdown on the industry has brought it to the “brink of financial ruin.”Cruises in the U.S. have been banned since the Trump administration ordered the lockdown in March 2020 amid COVID-19 outbreaks an...

By Matthew Heller • April 9, 2021

Coinbase Fined $6M Over Crypto Trade Reporting

Coinbase has agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle charges that it misrepresented the volume and liquidity of digital assets including bitcoin on its GDAX cryptocurrency exchange platform.In an administrative order, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission faulted Coinbase’s reporting of transacti...

By Matthew Heller • March 22, 2021

uBiome Founders Charged With $60 Million Fraud

The married co-founders of uBiome have been charged with defrauding investors out of $60 million by falsely portraying the company as a medical testing success story that generated reliable revenue from insurance reimbursements.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said CEO Jessica Richman,...

By Matthew Heller • March 19, 2021

Seven Accused of $45M Pump-and-Dump Fraud

A California man was charged on Tuesday with collaborating with his father and five others in a pump-and-dump scheme that defrauded investors in a tech company of nearly $45 million.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Kalistratos “Kelly” Kabilafkas of Moorpark, Calif., concealed his ...

By Matthew Heller • March 2, 2021

SEC to Update Rules on Climate Risk Disclosure

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has announced it will review public companies’ climate-related disclosures as part of an effort to update guidelines that are more than a decade old.Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee said commission staff would use insights from the review to “begin u...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 25, 2021

Coinseed Accused of Illegal Digital Token Sales

Cryptocurrency platform Coinseed has been charged with selling unregistered securities in the form of digital tokens and misrepresenting the financial services experience of its management team, including its former CFO.Both New York Attorney General Letitia James and the U.S. Securities and Exch...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 18, 2021

SEC Sues Morningstar Over CMBS Ratings

Morningstar has been charged with failing to disclose changes to its model for determining the ratings of commercial mortgage-backed securities that resulted in lower projections of loan losses.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission tightened its oversight of credit ratings agencies after th...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 17, 2021

White House Shows Concern Over Chip Shortage

The Biden administration said Thursday it is working with the semiconductor industry to address a chip shortage that has impacted automobile production around the world.The shortage has alarmed lawmakers, with Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio Republican, warning the White House last week that it “threatens...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 11, 2021

Merck Drops Out of COVID-19 Vaccine Race

After making a late entry into the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, Merck is dropping out due to disappointing test results, shelving two drug candidates that scientists hoped would be a major addition to the antivirus fight.The pharma giant said Monday that in initial clinical studies, the va...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 25, 2021

Deutsche Bank Fined $132M Over Bribery Schemes

Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay more than $130 million to settle U.S. allegations that it made improper payments, including bribes, to politically-connected intermediaries to secure business overseas.The allegations announced Friday by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commiss...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 11, 2021

Boeing Fined $2.5 Billion Over 737 Max Crashes

Boeing is putting some of its legal problems from the two crashes of the 737 Max aircraft behind it, agreeing to pay $2.5 billion to settle a criminal charge of conspiracy.The U.S. Department of Justice alleged two senior Boeing pilots deceived the Federal Aviation Administration into certifying ...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 8, 2021

U.S. Adopts New Independent Contractor Rule

The Trump administration has approved a regulatory change to make it easier for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees.The rule change defines independent contractors for the first time under the Fair Labor Standards Act, adopting an “economic reality” tes...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 7, 2021

SEC Sues Ripple Over Sales of XRP Digital Assets

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Ripple Labs with illegally raising more than $1.3 billion through sales of its XRP tokens in a case that could have major implications for the booming cryptocurrency industry.Since 2013, Ripple has sold more than 1.46 billion XRP units to in...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 23, 2020

Disbarred Attorney Charged With Microcap Fraud

A disbarred former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorney and a licensed attorney have been charged with issuing phony attorney opinion letters to facilitate the offer and sale of microcap securities.According to the SEC, Richard Rubin — who worked for the commission from 1969 to 1976, ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 2, 2020

CEO of Digital Ad Startup Charged With Fraud

The founder and CEO of digital advertising startup Benja has been charged with defrauding investors and a lender by falsely representing that well-known brands including Nike and Patagonia were using its services.According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Andrew Chapin, 31, went as...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 24, 2020

Feds Subpoena Nikola as Part of Fraud Probe

Electric vehicle maker Nikola has disclosed it received subpoenas from federal and state authorities amid allegations that it misled investors about its technology and manufacturing capabilities.Nikola has been under scrutiny since short-seller Hindenburg Research released a report on Sept. 10 th...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 11, 2020

EU Charges Amazon With Antitrust Violations

Continuing their crackdown on U.S. tech giants, EU regulators have charged Amazon with stifling competition through its use of marketplace seller data and opened another antitrust investigation of its e-commerce practices.The European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-nation bloc, said T...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 10, 2020

SEC Fines From Enforcement Hit Record $4.68B

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a record amount in fines for corporate wrongdoing this year despite a decline in the number of enforcement actions due to disruptions to casework caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.In an annual report, the SEC said disgorgement and penalties resul...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 3, 2020

House Urges Reforms to Curb Big Tech Firms

House lawmakers have called for sweeping measures to “rein in” Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple, comparing the tech giants to the big business monopolies that controlled the U.S. economy in the late 19th century.In a 449-page report, the House Judiciary Committee said its 16-month investigatio...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 7, 2020

Cybersecurity Tycoon Accused of Touting ICOs

Anti-virus software developer John McAfee has been charged with promoting initial coin offerings to his Twitter followers without disclosing that issuers paid him more than $23 million in digital assets for the promotions.McAfee, 74, is the latest high-profile figure to be accused of illegally “t...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 6, 2020

California Governor Vetoes Return-to-Work Bill

In a victory for business groups, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have protected workers who have been laid off in service industries badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.Assembly Bill 3216 required that employers in the hotel, airport hospitality, event center and buil...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 2, 2020

Kroll Fined $2M for Violating Credit-Rating Rules

Kroll Bond Rating Agency has agreed to pay $2 million to settle allegations that its procedures for rating derivative securities fell short of industry standards.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission tightened its oversight of credit ratings agencies after the mass defaults of highly rated ...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 30, 2020