DC Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of SEC’s Use of Administrative Law Judges in First Appellate Ruling

In the first appellate ruling of its kind, the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the SEC’s use of administrative law judges in administrative proceedings as constitutional. The court in Raymond J. Lucia Cos. v. SEC denied Mr. Lucia’s petition for review in which he claimed that the SEC’s use of administrative law judges was unconstitutional.

Lucia argued that administrative law judges are “Officers of the United States” within the meaning of the Appointments Clause in Article II of the Constitution. Lucia urged the court to rule that the SEC’s use of administrative law judges was unconstitutional because those judges have not been appointed by the President, as the Constitution requires. The three-judge panel disagreed and concluded that the SEC’s administrative law judges are inferior officers/employees who are not governed by the clause. In making this determination, the panel considered the significance of the matters resolved by the administrative law judges, the discretion the administrative law judges exercise in reaching their decisions, and the finality of the administrative law judges’ decisions. The court found the last factor dispositive because the Commission ultimately must act to approve an administrative law judge’s decision. “As the Commission has emphasized, the initial decision becomes final when, and only when, the Commission issues the finality order, and not before then . . . . Thus, the Commission must affirmatively act—by issuing the order—in every case. The Commission’s final action is either in the form of a new decision after de novo review or, by declining to grant or order review, its embrace of the ALJ’s initial decision as its own.” Op. at 13. In that sense, the court concluded, administrative law judges have not been “delegated sovereign authority” such that they would come within the purview of the Appointments Clause.

The DC Circuit’s decision deals a significant blow to litigants bringing similar challenges in other federal courts. As other cases become ripe for substantive consideration after jurisdictional hurdles are cleared, this decision provides the SEC’s with strong ammunition to oppose similar constitutional challenges. While the Second and Eleventh Circuits recently addressed issues relating to the SEC’s use of ALJs, the opinions focused on the district court’s lack of jurisdiction to hear the cases because the plaintiffs had not raised their challenges in the SEC’s in-house court first, not the merits of the issues. Unless and until another circuit court rules the SEC’s use of ALJs unconstitutional, creating a split, the issue will likely not reach the Supreme Court.

Sixth Circuit Weighs Challenge to its Jurisdiction in Lawsuit Brought by GOP Committees against the SEC

The Republican parties of three states—Tennessee, Georgia, and New York—recently brought a lawsuit in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals against the Securities and Exchange Commission to challenge revised Rule G-37, which the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) published earlier this year to limit pay-to-play practices in the municipal securities area. The revision extended Rule G-37 to cover not only brokers and dealers of municipal securities but also municipal advisers. It prohibits those advisers from engaging in municipal advisory business with a municipal entity for two years if the adviser, its staff, or its political action committee made a significant contribution to an official who could influence the award of municipal securities business. The rule also requires certain covered entities, such as municipal advisers, to publicly disclose contributions to government officials. The plaintiffs claim this new extension of the rule infringes upon the constitutionally protected First Amendment right of municipal advisers to make political contributions.

This lawsuit is not the first time these plaintiffs have attempted to challenge the constitutionality of regulations that limit the political contributions of certain financial players. In 2014, the New York and Tennessee Republican Parties filed a similar complaint in federal court in the District of Columbia that challenged, among other things, the constitutionality of SEC Rule 206(4)-5, which prohibited investment advisers from receiving compensation for services to government pension plan clients when those advisers made campaign contributions to parties or candidates who had the ability to influence awards of public investment advisory contracts. The district court dismissed the complaint on a technicality because the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 gives the courts of appeals exclusive jurisdiction to hear challenges to final orders promulgated by the SEC and then only if such challenges are brought within sixty days of promulgation of the rule. The D.C. Circuit Court affirmed.

Back in the Sixth Circuit, the plaintiffs learned their lesson from the D.C. Circuit and timely filed this complaint with the court of appeals. However, last week the SEC filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and the Sixth Circuit issued a halt to the briefing schedule to decide the potentially dispositive motion. In its motion to dismiss, the SEC argued that the Sixth Circuit did not have jurisdiction over this controversy because the SEC did not issue a final order or perform any action that would provide the Court with jurisdiction over the MSRB’s amendment to Rule G-37. In fact, the SEC claims Congress precluded it from using any funds to finalize, issue, or implement an order regarding the disclosure of political contributions, which the recently revised Rule G-37 requires municipal advisers to do. The SEC contends this same prohibition may in fact prohibit it from using funds to defend the MSRB rule on its merits. In their opposition filed yesterday, the plaintiffs strongly disagreed with these contentions. With Citizens United as backdrop, a challenge to these types of rules, which curtail political contributions, may have some teeth if a court ever actually gets to the substantive merits. The SEC has handed the Sixth Circuit a procedural “out” with its motion to dismiss, and it will be interesting to see if the court decides to take it.

Latest Auditor Suspensions Illustrate Key SEC Enforcement Focal Points

On July 22, 2016, the SEC suspended an accounting firm and permanently suspended one of its former partners for conducting a defective audit for a publicly-traded company allegedly engaged in a fraud scheme that resulted in numerous material misstatements on its financial statements. Exchange Act Rel. No. 78393 (July 22, 2016). These suspensions derived from the SEC’s settlement with New York-based EFP Rotenberg, LLP and engagement partner Nicholas Bottini, CPA, for audit services performed on behalf of ContinuityX Solutions, Inc., which claimed to sell Internet services to businesses. The SEC found that EFP Rotenberg violated and Bottini aided and abetted and caused EFP Rotenberg’s violations of Sections 10A(a)(1) and 10A(a)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 2-02(b)(1) of Regulation S-X. It also concluded that the accounting firm and its former audit partner engaged in improper professional conduct pursuant to Section 4C(a)(2) of the Exchange Act and Rule 102(e)(1)(ii) and (iii) of the SEC’s Rules of Practice.

According to the Order, ContinuityX’s financial misstatements included impermissibly recognizing commission revenue from fraudulent sales transactions, recording assets belonging to third parties as its own and failing to disclose related party transactions. The SEC alleged that when auditing ContinuityX’s fiscal year 2012 financial statements, EFP Rotenberg and Bottini failed to perform sufficient audit procedures and repeatedly engaged in improper professional conduct that resulted in violations of PCAOB standards and demonstrated a lack of competence.  Specifically, the SEC found that the respondents failed to: “(1) appropriately respond to risks of material misstatement; (2) identify related party transactions; (3) obtain sufficient audit evidence; (4) perform procedures to resolve and properly document inconsistencies; (5) investigate management representations that contradicted other audit evidence; and (6) exercise due professional care.” Notwithstanding these shortfalls, the audit firm provided an unqualified opinion on the company’s annual financial statements.

The SEC supported its factual findings with numerous alleged instances in which EFP Rotenberg and Bottini either capitulated to the will of ContinuityX’s management or seemingly concluded their audit procedures prior to obtaining reasonable assurances. These alleged instances included:

  • Acquiescence to a scope limitation resulting from the company’s refusal to permit the auditors to obtain accounts receivable confirmations from third parties;
  • A failure of the engagement team to perform procedures sufficient to detect whether revenue was earned legitimately despite obtaining adequate documentation to do so;
  • An absence of audit workpaper documentation explaining the resolution of material inconsistencies between audit evidence and representations from management; and
  • A failure to insist that the company respond to an auditor inquiry regarding whether its chief financial officer had a related party relationship with a particular customer.

Without either respondent admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, EFP Rotenberg agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty and accept a one-year suspension from public company audits, conditioned upon the certification of an independent consultant that it has remedied the various causes behind its failure to detect ContinuityX’s fraud. Bottini agreed to a $25,000 penalty and a permanent suspension from appearing and practicing before the SEC as an accountant, which includes not participating in the financial reporting or audits of public companies. In imposing these penalties, the Order stated that these were not the respondents’ first SEC violations. Both EFP Rotenberg and Bottini each had settled an unrelated 2014 SEC proceeding involving an audit for a separate client that occurred during 2011. In that earlier proceeding, which also included violations of Section 4C(a)(2) and Rule 102(e)(1)(ii), EFP Rotenberg consented to a $50,000 penalty while Bottini agreed to pay $25,000 and accept a minimum two-year suspension. Exchange Act Rel. No. 72503 (July 1, 2014).

Given the presence of repeat offenders and numerous audit deficiencies, it is tempting to discount the overall significance in these particular proceedings, especially when compared to recent enforcement actions brought against more recognizable accounting firms. This would be a mistake, however, as this case serves as a cautionary tale concerning both the particularized financial reporting issues that are receiving heightened regulatory attention and the actions (or inactions) that potentially trigger “gatekeeper” culpability. As Andrew Ceresney, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, confirmed in a speech earlier this year, two of the central accounting issues in these proceedings – revenue recognition and related party transactions – remain high enforcement priorities. At the same time, Director Ceresney also signaled to the auditing profession that it “must be the bulwark against client pressure” and “demand objective evidence and investigation when they come across situations which suggest inaccuracies in the company filings.” Otherwise, as these proceedings reveal, the SEC intends to make examples of auditors who are found to have shirked these responsibilities and “fail[ed] to heed numerous warnings and red flags concerning alleged frauds.”

Registered Investment Advisor Agrees to Settle Charges of Failing to Clearly Disclose Transaction Costs Beyond “Wrap Fees” to Investors

On July 14, 2016, RiverFront Investment Group, LLC (“RiverFront”) agreed to settle charges brought by the SEC for failing to “properly prepare clients for additional transaction costs beyond the ‘wrap fees’ they pay to cover the cost of several services bundles together.” Press Release No. 2016-143. According to the SEC, participants in wrap fee programs usually pay an annual fee “which is intended to cover the cost of several services ‘wrapped’ together, such as custody, trade execution, portfolio management, and back office services.” Release No. 4453. The SEC found that under these wrap programs, a sponsoring firm will offer clients a selection of third-party managers, referred to as subadvisors, to have discretion over the clients’ investment decisions. When subadvisors execute trades on behalf of clients through a sponsor-designated broker-dealer, the transaction costs associated with the trades are included in the wrap fee. On the other hand, if a subadvisor sends a trade to a non-designated broker-dealer, a practice known as “trading away,” clients incur additional transaction costs beyond the wrap fee. Continue reading “Registered Investment Advisor Agrees to Settle Charges of Failing to Clearly Disclose Transaction Costs Beyond “Wrap Fees” to Investors”

Update: IRS, SEC, and Courts Diverge on Nature of Disgorgement

We previously wrote about decisions in SEC v. Graham from the Eleventh Circuit,  __ F.3d __, No. 14-13562, 2016 WL 3033605 (11th Cir. May 26, 2016), and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, 21 F. Supp. 3d 1300 (S.D. Fla. 2014), considering whether disgorgement claims and other remedies were subject to five-year statute of limitations on actions “for the enforcement of any civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture” codified in 28 U.S.C. § 2462. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the decision of the lower court that the SEC’s disgorgement claims were time-barred, holding that “disgorgement” is synonymous with the plain meaning of “forfeiture” as it is used in the statute.

On May 6, 2016—shortly before the Eleventh Circuit issued its ruling in Graham—the IRS published non-precedential Chief Counsel Advice (“CCA”) on whether Internal Revenue Code Section 162(f) bars business expense deductions for disgorgement paid to the SEC of profits stemming from alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The disgorgement payments were part of a consent agreement between the SEC and the taxpayer, whose subsidiary allegedly falsified accounting records in order to conceal gifts it made to officials of a foreign government in exchange for business benefits. The taxpayer paid additional penalties for which it specifically agreed it would not seek a tax deduction in a parallel agreement with the DOJ relating to the criminal case against taxpayer’s subsidiary. The IRS concluded that the taxpayer’s disgorgement payments were not deductible business expenses under § 162(f), which prohibits deduction of any “fine or similar penalty paid to a government for the violation of any law” as a business expense.

As explained in the CCA, § 162(f) has been interpreted to bar deductions of civil penalties where they are “imposed for purposes of enforcing the law and as punishment,” but to allow deduction of civil penalties if “imposed to encourage prompt compliance with a requirement of the law”—for example, “late filing charges or other interest charges”—or “as a remedial measure to compensate another party.”  Emphasizing that disgorgement in securities cases has deterrent aims, is a discretionary remedy, and might be required even if there is no injured party or in amounts exceeding actual losses, the IRS determined that whether disgorgement is primarily punitive or primarily compensatory for the purpose§ 162(f) is a fact-specific inquiry. Additionally, disgorgement imposed as a “discretionary equitable remedy” or where the proceeds are used to compensate victims might still be primarily punitive if it resembles forfeiture, which remains non-deductible even when used to compensate victims. With respect to the FCPA disgorgement the taxpayer had made to the SEC, the IRS concluded that its purpose was primarily punitive, and therefore it could not be deducted, because there was no evidence that it was meant to compensate the government or some other party for loss.

The SEC, the IRS, and the Eleventh Circuit have thus articulated three distinct characterizations of disgorgement. To avoid the limitations period of § 2462, the SEC’s position, adopted by the D.C. Circuit in Johnson v. SEC, 87 F.3d 484 (D.C. Cir. 1996), has been that disgorgement is a non-punitive equitable remedy. In the IRS’s view, disgorgement to the SEC may—but perhaps does not always—have a punitive purpose that bars tax deduction. The Eleventh Circuit has equated the statutory definitions of disgorgement and forfeiture, without commenting on whether disgorgement to the SEC is a “penalty.”

SEC Levies Disgorgement and Civil Penalties for Violations of the Consumer Protection Rule and the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protection Rule

On June 23, 2016, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. (collectively, “Merrill Lynch”) agreed to pay $415 million and admit wrongdoing to settle charges of rules based violations, including Exchange Act Rule 15c3-3, the Consumer Protection Rule (the “Consumer Protection Rule”) and Exchange Act Rule 21F-17 (“Rule 21F-17”), which prohibits any action impeding an individual from communicating directly with Commission staff about possible securities laws violations. See Release No. 78141.

Exchange Act Rule 15c3-3, known as the Consumer Protection Rule, was enacted to “protect broker-dealer customers in the event a broker dealer becomes insolvent” by eliminating the “use by broker-dealers of customer funds and securities to finance firm overhead and such firm activities a trading and underwriting through the separation of customer related activities from other broker-dealer operations.” To safeguard assets, the Consumer Protection Rule requires broker-dealers to “maintain a reserve of funds and/or certain qualified securities in an account at a bank that is at least equal in value to the net cash owed to customers” and to “promptly obtain and thereafter maintain physical possession or control over customers’ fully paid and excess margin securities . . . . in one of several locations . . . held free of liens or any other interest that could be exercised by a third-party to secure an obligation of the broker-dealer.” The Consumer Protection Rule also imposes a self-reporting requirement where, in the event that a broker-dealer fails to maintain sufficient reserves, it must immediately notify the Commission and FINRA.

Signaling that the SEC may suspect that other broker-dealers may have also violated the Consumer Protection Rule, Michael J. Osnato, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Complex Financial Instruments Unit, announced in a press release: “Simultaneous with today’s action, SEC staff will begin a coordinated effort across divisions to find potential violations by other firms through a targeted sweep and by encouraging firms to self-report any potential violations of the Customer Protection Rule.” Press Release No. 2016-128. In light of the significant civil penalty imposed by the SEC against Merrill Lynch, broker-dealers should take a hard look at their own compliance with the Consumer Protection Rule and seriously consider self-reporting if they find violations as required by the Consumer Protection Rule itself.

Rule 21F-17 was enacted to “evince[] a Congressional purpose to facilitate the disclosure of information to the Commission relating to possible securities law violations and to preserve the confidentiality of those who do so.” “Implementation of the Whistleblower Provisions of Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,” Release No. 34-64545, at p. 198 (Aug. 12, 2011). The SEC acknowledged that it did not discover any instance where a Merrill Lynch employee was prevented from directly communicating with the Commission regarding potential securities law violations, certain Merrill Lynch policies, procedures, and agreements with employees included language that the SEC claimed did not permit an individual to voluntarily disclose confidential information. The Order further states that Merrill Lynch promptly took “substantial remedial acts” to address any Rule 21F-17 violations, including revising its severance agreements. Notably, this is the second time the Commission has held proceedings for Rule 21F-17 violations without any evidence that any employee had been prevented from disclosing confidential information to the government. See In the Matter of KBR, Inc., Release No. 74619. Given that the Consumer Protection Rule violation seems unrelated to the Rule 21F-17 violation, it seems likely we will see the staff asking about language included in employment agreements, severance agreements and other employment policies during investigations even in the absence of specific whistleblower concerns.

While Merrill Lynch admitted to wrongdoing, the settlement involves rules based violations as opposed to fraud based violations. Merrill Lynch did not admit to any fraudulent conduct. Notably, some of the largest “admit” settlements have been grounded in rules based violations. See Press Release No. 2013-187 (JPMorgan Chase admits to wrongdoing and pays $200 million and $920 million worldwide to settle SEC charges); see also Press Release No. 2014-17 (Scotttrade admits to wrongdoing and pays $2.5 million to settle SEC charges). The Commission also announced on June 23rd, a litigated administrative proceeding against William Tirrell, Merrill Lynch’s former Head of Regulatory Reporting, related to the Consumer Protection Rule violations. See Release No. 78142. The proceeding will be scheduled for a public hearing before an administrative law judge.

Third-Party Service Provider to Private Equity Funds Pays More Than $350,000 for Gatekeeping Failures

On June 16, 2016, Apex Fund Services (US), Inc., settled charges that it ignored clear indications of fraud while keeping records and preparing financial statements and investment account statements for private funds managed by EquityStar Capital Management, LLC, and ClearPath Wealth Management, LLC, each of which has previously been charged with fraud in SEC enforcement actions. Press Release 2016-120. The settlement highlights the SEC’s focus on gatekeepers and the importance of gatekeepers monitoring red flags, especially when their role includes providing financial information to investors.

With respect to EquityStar, Apex settled charges that it made materially false and misleading statements to investors when it improperly accounted for undisclosed withdrawals from funds (made by EquityStar and manager Steven Zoernack) as receivables even when Apex possessed evidence that neither EquityStar nor Zoernack were willing or able to repay the withdrawals, which totaled over $1 million. After Zoernack stated his intent to repay an initial withdrawal, Zoernack continued to make withdrawals (without making repayments) that Apex repeatedly treated as “receivables,” rather than withdrawals by Zoernack, in the Net Asset Value (“NAV”) reports. Eventually, the “receivables” accounted for nearly 54% of the NAV of one fund and more than 26% of another fund. During this time, Apex learned that Zoernack had previously been convicted for wire fraud. According to the SEC, Apex repeatedly asked Zoernack to make disclosures about the withdrawals that he did not make. The SEC also found Apex ultimately determined that Zoernack would not be able to repay them. Nevertheless, Apex continued to report materially inaccurate NAVs. Release No. 4429.

ClearPath was charged with securities fraud violations relating to a misappropriation scheme last year in the District of Rhode Island. With respect to ClearPath, the SEC found Apex (i) “failed to act appropriately after detecting undisclosed brokerage and bank accounts, undisclosed margin and loan agreements, and inter-series and inter-fund transfers made in violation of the fund offering documents”; (ii) failed to correct prior financial reports and continued to issue “materially false reports and statements” to ClearPath and an independent auditor; and (iii) used those false reports in communication financial performance to investors. Release No. 4428.

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Apex agreed to retain an independent consultant to conduct a review of Apex’s policies and procedures and recommend corrective measures. Additionally, Apex will pay a total of $352,449, which includes (i) disgorgement of $89,050, plus $7,786 in interest and a $75,000 penalty for its actions with respect to EquityStar; and (ii) disgorgement of $96,800, plus $8,813 in interest and a $75,000 penalty for its actions with respect to ClearPath.

SEC Strikes a Harsh Tone on Receipt of Transaction-based Compensation by Private Equity Fund Managers

On June 1, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a warning to private equity fund managers who receive transaction-based fees in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio companies by charging Blackstreet Capital Management (Blackstreet), a private equity fund advisory firm, and its principal, Murry Gunty with, among other things, acting as an unregistered broker-dealer. According to the SEC, Blackstreet received fees, separate and apart from its management fees, for performing “in-house brokerage services” in connection with the acquisition and disposition of portfolio companies for two private equity funds. The fact that Blackstreet Capital fully disclosed the fees did not affect the SEC’s conclusion that Blackstreet acted as an unregistered broker-dealer.

Blackstreet and Gunty settled, on a neither-admit-nor-deny basis, with the SEC and agreed to pay more than $3.1 million in disgorgement and civil penalties. Importantly, the $3.1 million settlement also reflects other charges such as failing to disclose other fees and failing to implement reasonably designed compliance policies and procedures to prevent violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and rules thereunder.

Section 15(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act) makes it unlawful for any broker or dealer to use the mails or any other means of interstate commerce to “effect any transactions in, or to induce or attempt to induce the purchase or sale of, any security” unless that broker or dealer is registered with the SEC in accordance with Section 15(b) of the Exchange Act. “Broker” is defined in Section 3(a)(4) of the Exchange Act as “any person engaged in the business of effecting transactions in securities for the account of others.” Over the last several years, the SEC has included violations of 15(a) in numerous enforcement actions involving offering frauds and other situations involving the offer and sale of securities to retail investors.

In its Order against Blackstreet and Gunty, the SEC concluded that by being involved in the purchase or sale of securities, including soliciting deals, identifying buyers or sellers, negotiating and structuring transactions, arranging financing, executing the transactions and receiving transaction-based compensation, Blackstreet was performing brokerage services without having registered as a broker-dealer and, therefore, willfully violated Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act.

Private equity fund managers have recognized the potential that the SEC would take the position that they are acting as broker-dealers. In 2014, the SEC issued a no-action letter that relieved firms from the requirement to register as a broker-dealer in connection with facilitating a sale of a private company as long as they complied with a number of detailed conditions. The conditions included requirements that the manager must never have possession of customer funds or securities; that upon completion of the M&A transaction, the buyer must have control of the target; and that the manager should not provide financing for the transaction.

The SEC’s most recent action in the private equity space emphasizes the SEC’s renewed resolve to more strictly enforce non-fraud based violations and to bring Section 15(a) charges in situations beyond traditional transactions with retail investors. In fact, following the settlement, Mr. Robert B. Baker, Assistant Regional Director in the SEC’s Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit, stated “That’s the first case of a private-equity adviser violating section 15(a) of the [Exchange Act] for acting as a broker and failing to register as a broker.” However, even if Blackstreet had contemplated reliance on the no-action positon cited above and such position was available, it did not comply with at least one of the conditions of the no-action letter because, according to the Order, Blackstreet appears to have been involved in arranging the financing for the transactions. Moreover, while disclosure of the fees was important, the fact that they were disclosed had no significance to the SEC’s analysis of whether Blackstreet acted as an unregistered broker-dealer.

Fees related to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio companies are not uncommon in the private equity fund context. In light of the SEC’s action, private equity fund managers should reconsider whether they need to register as broker dealers, take care to comply with all of the provisions of existing no-action letters, seek no-action relief of their own or take other appropriate steps.

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