Enforcement

While the Securities and Exchange Commission remains silent on whether there will be more settlements under its continuing disclosure enforcement initiative, an SEC official said any party that voluntarily submitted potential violations will be told whether the commission plans to take action against them.

The Internal Revenue Service's Office of Tax-Exempt Bonds has told its auditors that, if an issuer redeems 100% of the outstanding principal amount of its tax-exempt or tax-credit bonds, the audit can be closed without further TEB action.

The former head of the Internal Revenue Service's tax-exempt bond office says TEB is ignoring alleged violations on a financing for a Syracuse mall that benefited from breaks sought by Hillary Clinton.

Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg has banned Wells Fargo from its list of approved underwriters for one year, citing the fake-accounts scandal,

R. Seelaus & Co., Carty & Co., and Emmet & Co. have agreed to pay a total of $83,000 to settle separate charges by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority related to unfair markups, trading below the minimum denomination, and trade reporting failures involving municipal securities.

Miami agreed to pay $1 million to settle securities fraud charges after the city was found guilty by a local jury of playing a shell game to hide its deteriorating financial condition from bondholders.

The Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement division’s heightened attention on the municipal market and application of new legal techniques to that enforcement are “here to stay,” according to the commission’s top cop, Andrew Ceresney.

The SEC's MCDC initiative is causing many municipal issuers and underwriters to change the way they do things.

A judge has agreed to put Peter Cannava back into a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that alleges the Wells Fargo banker aided and abetted the defrauding of investors in connection with a private placement by 38 Studios.

Securities and Exchange Commission examinations of municipal advisors over the past two years found fiduciary duty and fair dealing violations, said SEC officials who cautioned the number of MA exams will increase in 2017.

The city of Miami will consider paying $1 million, as recommended by City Attorney Victoria Mendez, to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit.

Peter Cannava is fighting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s attempt to put him back into its lawsuit over 38 Studios’ private placement by trying to amend the complaint to include more details about his alleged aiding and abetting the defrauding of investors.

The highest tax-exempt bond priority audits for fiscal year 2017 will be on claims and returns that have been identified because of noncompliance issues, according to the work plan for the IRS’ Tax-Exempt Bond Office.

The judge assigned to Calvin Grigsby's federal discrimination lawsuit against the city of Shreveport, La., is considering whether to dismiss the complaint.

The Internal Revenue Service has informally advised the Baker Correctional Development Corp. in Florida that $45 million of first mortgage revenue bonds it issued in 2008 are taxable.

Miami officials will hold a special meeting with attorneys to determine whether to accept a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in light of a verdict finding the city guilty of securities fraud.

Former state and local officials on a House Financial Services Committee panel raised concerns Thursday about the lack of transparency of fees in municipal bond deals and the tendency by dealers to push for more negotiated than competitive bond transactions.

Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso said the city has received a proposed settlement of the Securities and Exchange Commission's case, in which a jury found the city guilty of securities fraud last week.

The settlement by former baseball pitcher Curt Schilling and other 38 Studios executives with Rhode Island could push lone defendant First Southwest to the table.

Municipal market participants at The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference shared concrete examples of how disclosure is improving in the wake of the Securities and Exchange Commission's continuing disclosure voluntary enforcement initiative.