Enforcement

Bracewell & Giuliani partner Shamoil T. Shipchandler will head the Fort Worth regional office of the Securities and Exchange Commission beginning in October, the agency said.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ordered seven broker-dealer firms to pay a total of more than $90,641 to settle charges of muni trade reporting failures and excessive markups, as well as engaging in muni business without qualified personnel.

Two Citigroup companies agreed to pay $180 million on Monday to settle charges they defrauded investors by misrepresenting that investments in two now-defunct hedge funds were safe, low-risk and suitable for traditional bond investors.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censored and fined UBS Financial Services $750,000 for falsely representing to its customers that the interest on their municipal bond payments was tax-exempt when it was taxable.

Pennsylvania issued a request for proposals to hire a law firm to initiate clawback from participants in the Harrisburg incinerator bond financing fiasco.

Securities and Exchange Commission members are calling for the adoption of rules requiring broker-dealers to disclose markups and markdowns on municipal securities, warning that if self-regulators do not act, the SEC will propose the rules itself.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked for an extension to decide whether to approve the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed Rule G-42 on the core duties of municipal advisors.

The Senate Appropriations Committee's fiscal 2016 financial services bill would significantly underfund the Securities and Exchange Commission and undermine the Internal Revenue Service's ability to carry out basic functions, Office of Management and Budget director Shaun Donovan warned committee leaders in a letter this week.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board issued a media advisory on Tuesday warning of possible problems its anti-pay-to-play rule could cause for governors who are running for president and Wall Street firms that may contribute to them.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans later this year to propose changes to Rules G-37, on political contributions, and G-20, on gifts and gratuities, to extend these dealer rules to municipal advisors, the executive director said on Tuesday.

A coalition of state and city finance officials led by Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner wants the SEC to require greater transparency from PE firms that manage public pension funds.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined three firms a total of $57,500 for municipal bond trade reporting violations. The self-regulator also suspended a former broker-dealer cashier for six months for fictitious trades.

Mayor Stephen Reed "could not have acted alone," Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said in announcing corruption charges.

Two senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would give the Securities and Exchange Commission the ability to levy higher civil monetary penalties against firms and individuals for securities law violations.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP attorneys take a look at the Securities and Exchange Commission settlements with 36 municipal securities underwriters pursuant to the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative.

The Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of ex-Miami, Fla. budget director Michael Boudreaux, sending the former official and the city back to court to fight a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit in a move some lawyers fear could hurt municipal officials' abilities to do their jobs.

A federal judge in Alabama has ordered mediation in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pay-to-play suit against two ex-JPMorgan bankers involved in Jefferson County sewer deals.

In penalizing corporate wrongdoers with fines, the justice system is missing a crucial component of what criminal law is supposed to be about. Criminal law is supposed to address wrongs against society.

Scranton disregarded pension laws in its payment of double benefits to 35 employees over the last 12 years at a cost of $2.9 million, said Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale.

State and private universities, local and state government agencies, and even the federal government have announced significant data breaches that compromised information and caused significant operational disruptions.