SEC Has Toughened Enforcement Efforts, Agency Says
National News
The Securities and Exchange Commission's chief enforcement official says the agency has toughened its efforts to shut down financial misconduct after failing to act quickly in the cases of R. Allen Stanford and Bernard Madoff.
SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami says in testimony prepared for a Senate hearing that "we have moved aggressively" to put in place reforms recommended by the SEC inspector general. The IG found that the SEC knew since 1997 that Stanford likely was operating a Ponzi scheme but waited 12 years to bring fraud charges against the billionaire.
Khuzami also tells the Senate Banking Committee the SEC is working to provide "maximum recovery" to investors hurt in Stanford's alleged $7 billion fraud.
Stanford has been in federal prison since his indictment in June 2009 on criminal charges that his international banking business was really a pyramid scheme. He is disputing the charges. He faces a life sentence if convicted.
The SEC didn't bring civil fraud charges against Stanford until February 2009. SEC Inspector General David Kotz said in a report issued in April that "institutional influence" in the enforcement division was a factor in the agency's repeated decisions not to conduct a full investigation.
The report found that SEC enforcement officials discouraged cases that couldn't be resolved quickly. And it said an SEC enforcement official who helped quash investigations later legally represented Stanford.
The SEC's office in Fort Worth, Texas, had conducted "examination after examination" of Stanford's business over eight years, but "merely watched the alleged fraud grow, and failed to take any action to stop it," Kotz testified at Wednesday's hearing.
Related listings
-
Defendant pleads guilty in NJ in $880M fraud case
National News 09/16/2010A Florida man known for his sports-related philanthropy pleaded guilty Wednesday to running a multistate Ponzi scheme that prosecutors say left investors with up to $100 million in losses.Nevin Shapiro pleaded guilty in New Jersey federal court to on...
-
Officials rescue 37 immigrants from Calif. house
National News 09/09/2010Immigration authorities have rescued more than three dozen immigrants who were locked inside a sweltering boarded-up bedroom in a Southern California house.Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Wednesday some of the 37 immigrants from si...
-
Court won't force Calif officials to defend Prop 8
National News 09/02/2010A California court has refused to order Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal a ruling that overturned the state's gay marriage ban.The 3rd District Court of Appeal on Wednesday denied a conservative legal group's requ...
Chicago Business Fraud Attorney
Business Fraud can take many forms. In the broadest terms, a fraud occurs when someone intentionally deceives others for personal gain. Many times business fraud is harmful and recovery is necessary. Losing your personal or business’s assets can devastate your entire life. Contact Roth Law Groupto receive help on restoring your business to normalcy before you were victimized with fraud. Business fraud cases can involve multiple people and complicated schemes aimed at deceiving the public, auditors, investigators, or others. Whether you are dealing with corporate fraud or commercial fraud, we can step in and fight back to receive compensation that you deserve.
At Roth Law Group we are devoted to prosecuting and defending the legal rights of individuals and small businesses, as either plaintiff or defendant. Proving fraud can be extremely difficult. To have a successful business fraud case, one must prove that the defendant purposefully set out to defraud the victim. Fraud cases are being investigated more aggressively than ever. With increasing federal regulation and scrutiny of corporate practises, many individuals and businesses find themselves the subject of business fraud investigations.