The Securities and Exchange Commission moved to dismiss its civil fraud case against Trevor Milton, founder of Nikola Corporation, following his pardon by President Trump on March 28, 2025. Milton was convicted in October 2022 of securities fraud for misleading investors about Nikola’s …
Trevor MiltonSecurities and Exchange CommissionDonald TrumpNikola Corporationcorruptionregulatory-capturepay-to-playsecurities-fraudelite-impunity
President Trump issued an executive order on February 10, 2025, pausing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement for 180 days. The order directs the Department of Justice to halt all new FCPA investigations and review existing enforcement guidelines, effectively suspending investigations …
Donald TrumpPamela BondiDepartment of JusticeSecurities and Exchange CommissionU.S. corporationsdojexecutive-orderfcpaforeign-briberycorruption+4 more
The SEC charged Cantor Fitzgerald $6.75 million for systematic disclosure violations in two SPAC transactions involving View, Inc. and Satellogic. The firm misled investors by claiming no substantive discussions with merger targets existed, despite already negotiating potential mergers. This …
Securities and Exchange CommissionCantor FitzgeraldHoward Lutnick (CEO)View, Inc.Satellogicspac-frauddisclosure-violationssec-enforcementcantor-fitzgeraldhoward-lutnick+3 more
The Securities and Exchange Commission files a federal lawsuit against Patrick Orlando, former CEO and Chairman of Digital World Acquisition Corporation, alleging securities fraud in connection with DWAC’s initial public offering and proposed merger with Trump Media. The SEC alleges Orlando …
Securities and Exchange CommissionPatrick OrlandoDigital World Acquisition CorpTrump Media & Technology Groupsec-lawsuitpatrick-orlandosecurities-frauddwactrump-media+1 more
In a 6-3 decision on June 27, 2024, the Court held the Seventh Amendment requires jury trials when the SEC seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, ending the agency’s use of in-house administrative law judge proceedings for such cases. Chief Justice Roberts’ majority opinion found …
Supreme Court of the United StatesSecurities and Exchange CommissionChief Justice John Roberts (majority opinion)Justice Neil Gorsuch (concurring)Justice Clarence Thomas (concurring)+4 moreadministrative-lawcourtsenforcementseventh-amendmentjury-trial-rights+3 more
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled fraud charges against Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) for material misrepresentations to investors about merger discussions with Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). The SEC found that individuals who would later become …
Securities and Exchange CommissionDigital World Acquisition CorpTrump Media & Technology GroupSECsec-chargesdwacsecurities-fraudtrump-mediaspac-fraud+1 more
The SEC settled fraud charges against Nikola Corporation for $125 million, finding the electric vehicle company made materially false and misleading statements about its products, technical capabilities, and partnerships during its 2020 SPAC merger. Founder Trevor Milton falsely claimed the Nikola …
Securities and Exchange CommissionNikola CorporationTrevor Milton (Founder and Former Executive Chairman)VectoIQ Acquisition Corp (SPAC)spac-fraudelectric-vehiclessec-enforcementmaterial-misrepresentationretail-fraud+2 more
Wells Fargo agrees to pay $3 billion to resolve criminal and civil investigations by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission into sales practices that created millions of unauthorized accounts between 2002 and 2016. In a deferred prosecution agreement, Wells Fargo formally …
Wells FargoDepartment of JusticeSecurities and Exchange Commissioncorporate-fraudwells-fargodojdeferred-prosecution
On August 2, 2018, the Trump administration’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its two-year investigation into how ExxonMobil factors climate change regulations into its calculations of asset values. The SEC informed the energy giant in a letter dated Thursday that it would …
Securities and Exchange CommissionExxonMobilDonald TrumpRex Tillersonclimate-denialexxonknewregulatory-captureaccountability-failuretrump-administration
BP reached a landmark $4.5 billion criminal settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, pleading guilty to 14 criminal charges including 11 felony counts of misconduct or negligent homicide related to the deaths of the 11 workers in the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The settlement included $4 …
BP (British Petroleum)Department of JusticeSecurities and Exchange CommissionDonald VidrineRobert Kaluza+3 morecriminal-settlementcorporate-prosecutionenvironmental-crimedeepwater-horizondoj-enforcement
BP reached a landmark $4.5 billion criminal settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, pleading guilty to 14 criminal charges including 11 felony counts of misconduct or negligent homicide related to the deaths of the 11 workers in the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The settlement included $4 …
BP (British Petroleum)Department of JusticeSecurities and Exchange CommissionDonald VidrineRobert Kaluza+3 morecriminal-settlementcorporate-prosecutionenvironmental-crimedeepwater-horizondoj-enforcement
Academic research reveals systemic problems with the SEC’s ‘revolving door’ between regulatory agencies and financial institutions. Between 2001-2010, 419 former SEC employees filed 1,949 disclosure statements for private representation, creating significant conflicts of interest. …
Wells Fargo & Co.Securities and Exchange CommissionSEC San Francisco enforcement branchFormer SEC enforcement chiefPrivate financial defense attorneys+2 moreregulatory-capturesec-revolving-doorwells-fargoenforcement-conflictsfinancial-regulation+1 more
Between 2007 and 2009, Palantir Technologies experienced explosive growth within the U.S. government, expanding from eight pilot programs to more than 50 programs across multiple federal agencies. This rapid expansion was driven by referrals from early adopters and represented Palantir’s …
Palantir TechnologiesFederal Bureau of InvestigationNational Security AgencyDepartment of Homeland SecuritySecurities and Exchange Commissionpalantirgovernment-contractsexpansionfbinsa+2 more
The SEC voted to allow five major investment banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and Bear Stearns) to use alternative net capital rules, effectively eliminating previous debt-to-net capital ratio limits. This voluntary program allowed banks to use their own internal …
Securities and Exchange CommissionChristopher CoxWilliam DonaldsonGoldman SachsMorgan Stanley+3 moreregulatory-capturefinancial-crisissecleveragewall-street+1 more