Securities & Capital Markets
SPAC Fraud Claims Against iLearningEngines Dismissed: Revenue Fabrication and Hidden Related-Party Allegations Fall Short at Pleading Stage
A federal judge in Maryland dismissed all securities fraud claims against the founders and directors of iLearningEngines, an AI-platform company that went public through a SPAC merger, filed for bankruptcy, and self-reported potential violations of law to...
SEC, CFTC Issue Joint Interpretation Clarifying Application of Securities Laws to Crypto Assets
The Securities and Exchange Commission on March 17 released a joint interpretation with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission clarifying how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets, and setting out a taxonomy covering digital commodities, digital...
SEC Issues Crypto Asset Interpretation Declaring Most Tokens Are Not Securities, CFTC Joins
A joint agency action from the SEC and CFTC addresses more than a decade of regulatory uncertainty by introducing a token taxonomy and clarifying when crypto assets fall under federal securities laws versus commodity regulation.
Securities Fraud Suit Over Orthofix-SeaSpine Merger Survives on Warranty Misrepresentation, But Exchange Act Claims Dismissed for Lack of Loss Causation
A federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas kept alive Securities Act claims tied to a false representation in the Orthofix-SeaSpine merger agreement, while dismissing the Exchange Act fraud counts because plaintiffs' own allegations undercut their...
SEC Proposes Slowing Fund Portfolio Reporting to Cut Burdens and Protect Strategies
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to Form N-PORT that would significantly reduce the frequency and volume of portfolio reporting by registered investment companies. The changes aim to lower compliance costs and protect fund...
SEC Data Shows Active ETFs Rival Passive Funds in Number; Mergers Cut Investor Fees
The Securities and Exchange Commission published new reports analyzing the rapid growth of active exchange traded funds and the fee impacts of fund mergers, alongside updated statistics on municipal advisors, transfer agents, and security-based swap dealers.
SEC Charges ADM and Three Former Executives With Accounting Fraud Over Nutrition Segment
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges against Archer-Daniels-Midland and two of its former executives, and filed a litigated action against a third, alleging they inflated the operating profit of ADM's Nutrition business segment...
SEC Hits ADM with $40M Penalty Over Inflated Nutrition Segment Results, Bars Former Executive
The SEC has charged grain-trading giant Archer-Daniels-Midland and three former executives with fraudulently inflating the performance of ADM's Nutrition business segment — a unit the company had promoted to investors as a key growth driver.
At Supreme Court Argument, Justices Divided Over Whether Investment Company Act Gives Shareholders a Federal Right to Sue for Rescission
The Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case that could determine whether investors in closed-end funds can bring a federal lawsuit to rescind contracts that violate the Investment Company Act, or whether Congress eliminated that remedy when it rewrote...