Enforcement

The SEC will investigate the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp.’s $75-million loan guarantee to video-game company 38 Studios, the agency confirmed.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $604.14 million of general obligation limited tax bond bank bonds that were issued by Clark County, Nev., in 2006.

Securities and Exchange Commission member Daniel Gallagher has sworn to take up the cause of municipal market reform at the SEC, accepting the baton from Elisse Walter, who recently left the commission.

One of the first jail bond deals the Internal Revenue Service ever audited, a Texas transaction that that appears to have prompted IRS reviews for dozens of similar deals, may be headed for settlement.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Thursday that it has fined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC $1 million and ordered the company to pay $188,000 in restitution plus interest for violations of municipal and corporate bond rules.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined four firms and two individuals a total of $270,000 for violations of municipal securities rules, FINRA announced this month.

Kara Stein took her oath as the newest member of the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday, bringing to a close the SEC career of Elisse Walter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday charged UBS Securities with violating securities laws while structuring and marketing a collateralized debt obligation by failing to disclose that it retained $23.6 million in upfront cash it received in the course of acquiring collateral for the CDO.

A Federal Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman confirmed a taskforce has been formed to investigate political corruption in Orange County, but no information has been released about the impetus or targets of the investigation.

Miami told bondholders that it will "vigorously defend" itself against securities fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Peter Ghavami received a $1 million fine and an 18-month prison sentence for his role in municipal bond bid-rigging, while a judge also fined and sentenced two other former UBS bankers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's recent enforcement action against Miami, Fla. signals the commission's seriousness about both upholding prior cease and desist orders and holding public officials accountable, market participants said.

A federal judge sentencing three former UBS bankers convicted of muni bond bid-rigging said they might receive prison terms similar to three other defendants.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit Friday against Miami, Fla. and the city's former budget director, charging them with securities fraud for making faulty disclosures in connection with three 2009 bond offerings totaling $153.5 million.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined four firms $106,000 and fined and suspended an individual for municipal securities rule violations.

A Financial Industry Regulatory hearing panel has suspended former broker Anthony Grey for two years, fined him $30,000, and ordered him to disgorge $16,000 in ill-gotten gains for routing muni bond trades through his personal accounts before selling them, through his firm, to retail customers at excessive markups.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will pursue no enforcement action against Rhode Island over its pension financial disclosures, Treasurer Gina Raimondo said.

White-collar criminal defense firm Stillman & Friedman PC has joined with national law firm Ballard Spahr LLP in a partnership to help municipal bond market clients.

Municipal market participants say two Securities and Exchange Commission nominees, near toward confirmation, could influence both rulemaking and enforcement actions.

The sentencing dates of more convicted municipal bond bid-riggers have been pushed back, according to documents filed with the U.S. district Courts for the Southern District of New York and Western District of North Carolina, as prosecutors seek stiffer penalties for price-fixing of investment contracts.