The Biden administration released its long awaited executive order on cryptocurrency, directing a range of federal agencies to study and assess a litany of issues related to digital assets, including cybersecurity, money laundering and climate impact.
As national champions are crowned in men's and women's basketball, hundreds of thousands of college athletes are entering the influencer marketplace for the first time and now find themselves attractive candidates in the fast growing influencer marketing arena. With influencer marketing potentially providing a 5x return on investment, many brands are eager to get into the industry, but it doesn't come without risks as the FTC Commissioner is taking a closer look at the use of influencers for marketing.
In a first of its kind prosecution, the Southern District of New York brought an insider trading case against defendant for selling inside information on the Dark Web. The SEC also brought a civil regulatory action against the defendant for the same conduct. In a rare move, however, SDNY and SEC charged this same conduct under different insider trading statutes. This difference underscores the legal complexities involved when the origin of inside information in the digital world is unknown.
The Connolly decision draws attention to the limits of the mail/wire fraud statutes — laws that are quite expansive but can also be stretched too far when applied to conduct in financial markets, especially markets tied to opaque rules and practices.
Cryptocurrency pump-and-dump schemes (CPDs) are becoming increasingly prevalent. As in the case of traditional "pump and dump" schemes, CPDs lead to short-term trading perturbations — exaggerated increases and/or decreases in prices, volume, or volatility.
While the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler's agenda raises important questions of both substance and process, including the technical, but very important, matter of SEC rulemaking: What is required for the Commission to create new rules, or change well-established rules? The answers to these questions, in turn, may determine what can realistically be accomplished given timing and political constraints.
Although billed as an annual look-back, the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division's Fraud Section annual report provides important insight for individuals, entities, and their lawyers as to where the Fraud Section is setting its sights for 2022 and beyond.
This article discusses the holding by the U.S. Supreme Court Kelly v. U.S. and explains its impact on subsequent cases and concludes with a discussion of the "right to control" theory of mail and wire fraud, which has been challenged in light of the Kelly decision.
As boards implement anti-bullying policies to protect against a toxic management-to-employee workplace environment, they should also consider extending similar protection to the vital interactions between the general counsel and the CEO.
