SEC Settles Charges of Auditor Independence Violations for $8 Million

The SEC announced settlements with an auditing firm (the “Firm”) and one of its partners relating to violations of certain auditor independence rules involving nineteen audit engagements with fifteen SEC-registrant issuers.

More specifically, the SEC found the Firm and its partner violated the Commission’s and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (“PCAOB”) auditor independence rules. The alleged conduct involved performing prohibited non-audit services, including exercising decision-making authority in the design and implementation of software relating to one of its issuer client’s financial reporting as well as engaging in management functions for the company. The partner was responsible for supervising the performance of the prohibited non-audit services. Additionally, the SEC charged additional PCAOB-rule violations for failing to notify the clients’ audit committees about the non-audit services. The SEC described these failures as “mischaracterized non-audit services” despite the services involving financial software “that were planned to be implemented in a subsequent audit period and providing feedback to management on those systems—areas outside the realm of audit work.” The partner was also charged with providing material, non-public information concerning an issuer to a software company without the issuer’s consent.

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Compliance Officers Beware: Your Conversations With the NFA During Examinations Could Lead to Charges

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) sent a strong message to Chief Compliance Officers (“CCO”) this week when it held a CCO held accountable for lying to the National Futures Association (“NFA”) during an examination. Also, if you did not believe the CFTC’s message about its intention to reach across borders to pursue bad actors, it’s time to reconsider.

Earlier this year the CFTC instituted a civil enforcement action against Phy Capital Investments, LLC and its CEO, Fabio Bretas de Freitas. The firm was formed in 2016 and the CEO solicited participants to invest in a pool to trade commodity futures contracts. According to the CFTC, despite representing to pool participants that it made substantial commodity trading profits, the firm never engaged in any trading activity and instead misappropriated participant funds. The civil charges against the firm and the CEO included various forms of fraud as well as making misstatements and omissions to the National Futures Administration (“NFA”).

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CFTC Decides Not to Appeal the DRW Ruling

In a recent announcement, the CFTC indicated it would not appeal its district court loss in CFTC v. DRW, stating, “After careful consideration of the issues, as well as discussion with agency staff and Commissioners, Chairman Giancarlo has decided the agency will not appeal the district court’s decision.”

In 2013, the CFTC filed a complaint against principal trading firm DRW Investments, LLC (“DRW”) and its principal, alleging price manipulation of a various interest rate swaps futures contract in 2011, specifically the IDEX Three-Month Interest Rate Swap Future (the “Three-Month Contract”). The CFTC alleged that DRW’s bidding practices in the Three-Month Contract created artificial daily settlement prices. The Commission based this assertion primarily upon the fact that the bids in question were higher than the corresponding rates in the contemporaneous over the counter (“OTC”) swap market. DRW argued its bids were not only a truer indication of the fair value of the future, but contributed to a more accurate valuation. Cleared futures contracts are marked to market daily with a corresponding exchange in variation margin payments, while uncleared OTC swaps generally do not involve such margin payments. DRW identified this difference and entered bids to reflect the variance.

District court Judge Richard Sullivan agreed with DRW, writing in his November 30, 2018 opinion, “there can be no dispute that a cleared interest rate swap contract is economically distinguishable from, and therefore not equivalent to, an uncleared interest rate swap, even when the two contracts otherwise have the same price point, duration, and notional amount.” CFTC v. Wilson, No. 13 Civ. 7884.

Judge Sullivan’s comprehensive opinion was notable in its criticism of the CFTC’s case, stating the CFTC provided “no evidence or explanation that … settlement prices were artificially high.” Id. The intent to affect market prices, on its own, is insufficient to show manipulation, a market participant must intend to cause, or cause in fact, an artificial price. Rather than being manipulative, DRW’s trading activity was simply a result of the firm’s understanding that the Three-Month Contract was not the economic equivalent of an OTC Swap. According to Judge Sullivan, “the so-called price distortion decried by the CFTC was simply a more accurate assessment of the fair market value of the… contract.”

While the CFTC’s statement announcing its decision not to appeal was brief, it also stressed the Commission’s intention continue the vigorous enforcement of its anti-manipulation rules, and litigate cases when necessary.

The CFTC and DOJ Crack Down Harder on Spoofing & Supervision

Last week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) filed their most significant and aggressive actions against spoofers and the firms employing them for failing to supervise. The CFTC filed settled actions against each of the global firms for supervisory violations, amongst other charges, and the CFTC charged six individuals with alleged commodities fraud and spoofing schemes. In the parallel criminal actions, the DOJ announced criminal charges against eight individuals (the six charged by the CFTC plus two others). The CFTC’s and DOJ’s coordinated and complex investigative efforts and filings indicate increased aggressiveness by both in this area. Further, these efforts represent the greatest amount of cooperation ever between the CFTC and DOJ. As reported previously in this blog post, with the affirmation of the conviction of high-frequency trader Michael Coscia, we are likely witnessing a CFTC and a DOJ emboldened to investigate and prosecute spoofing and related supervisory violations.

In terms of learning points from these actions, the CFTC continues to investigate and charge firms for failing to supervise this type of manipulative trading. This now appears to be a standard part of the CFTC’s “playbook” for these matters. Each of the firms settled to supervisory violations and as part of the CFTC’s remedies they further agreed to: continue to maintain surveillance systems to detect spoofing; ensure personnel “promptly” review reports generated by such systems and follow‑up as necessary if potential manipulative trading is identified; and maintain training programs regarding spoofing, manipulation, and attempted manipulation. Further, as part of its ongoing efforts to tout its self-reporting and cooperation programs, the CFTC acknowledged each firm’s cooperation during the investigations, and that one of the firms self-reported in response to a firm-initiated internal investigation. That said, it is difficult to interpret the benefits of this cooperation and self-reporting because the CFTC nevertheless levied significant penalties of $30 million, $15 million, and $1.6 million against the firms.

Another important point to highlight is that one of the individuals charged was a service provider who allegedly aided and abetted traders by designing software used to spoof and engage in a manipulative and deceptive scheme. According to the CFTC, this individual and his company aided and abetted the spoofing by designing a process that automatically and continuously modified the trader’s spoofing orders by one lot to move them to the back of relevant order queues (to minimize their chance of being executed) and cancelled all spoofing orders at one price level as soon as any portion of an order was executed. It appears from the parallel criminal complaint filed against this individual that the trader he is alleged to have assisted was likely Navinder Sarao, who previously pled guilty to criminal charges for engaging in manipulative conduct through spoofing-type activity involving E-mini S&P futures contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange between April 2010 and April 2015, including illicit trading that contributed to the May 6, 2010 “Flash Crash.” He also settled a CFTC enforcement action related to the same conduct. As part of his plea, Mr. Sarao entered into a cooperation agreement with the government (previously reported here) and it appears as though these actions may be related to Mr. Sarao’s cooperation.

The DOJ’s announcement of the latest round of charges also signals a heightened focus on spoofing cases by “Main Justice” in Washington, and the Criminal Fraud Section in particular. The announcement by Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan commended no fewer than eight Fraud Section prosecutors by name (as well as a prosecutor from Connecticut). In doing so, DOJ signaled its willingness to invest substantial resources in criminal manipulative trading prosecutions that will complement and further reinforce the efforts of the CFTC and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in key jurisdictions, including the Northern District of Illinois (which prosecuted Mr. Coscia).

In conclusion, with the CFTC’s and DOJ’s recent spoofing and supervisory cases, they have sent several important messages. First, and least surprising, this area will remain a top priority for the CFTC and we will continue to see increased collaboration with the DOJ. Additionally, with these filings and the supervisory charges filed against other firms over the past year, it appears to now be a matter of routine that the CFTC will be pursuing any supervisory violations related to the underlying spoofing violations. A new takeaway is that the CFTC and DOJ will be investigating other entities, such as vendors, who provide services that help facilitate this violative conduct and investigating them for aiding and abetting. Finally, it is likely that the Fraud Section will take an increasingly prominent role in the DOJ’s anti-spoofing prosecutions, and will continue to develop expertise in this expanding area of criminal enforcement.

Broker Pays $2.5 Million Fine for Using Market Volatility to Hide Markups Yielding Unearned Commissions

Last week, Louis Capital Markets, L.P. (“LCM”) agreed to disgorge $2.5 million in settlement of charges that it charged false execution prices to its customers in order to generate secret commissions.

LCM executed orders to purchase and sell securities for its clients, without holding any securities in its own account and thus bore no market risk, i.e., riskless principal trades. It purported to generate profits by charging customers small commissions, typically between $0.01 and $0.03 per share. LCM, however, unbeknownst to customers, inflated those commissions, by embedding undisclosed markups and markdowns into reported execution prices. LCM provided those false execution prices—either lower sales prices or higher purchase prices than LCM actually obtained in the market—to its customers. Critically, LCM did not engage in this deceptive behavior for every trade, rather “LCM opportunistically added markups/markdowns to trades at times when customers were unlikely to detect them, for example, during periods of market volatility.” (Order ¶ 13.) By engaging in these acts, LCM “unlawfully obtained millions of dollars from its customers.” (Order at 2.)

Without admitting or denying the findings, LCM agreed disgorge $2.5 million and to cease-and-desist violating Section 15(c)(1), which prohibits fraudulent conduct by broker-dealers. The SEC noted that while the conduct would support a civil penalty, it considered LCM’s financial status and accepted LCM’s offer that did not include one. Interestingly, LCM’s customers were “primarily large foreign institutions and foreign banks,” demonstrating the SEC’s commitment to eradicate fraud regardless of sophistication of investors.

11th Circuit Nixes CPA’s Claim That SEC Sanctions Preclude Criminal Prosecution

On February 3, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected an accountant’s argument that the imposition of both criminal charges and SEC sanctions on the basis of the same alleged conduct violated the Fifth Amendment’s Double Jeopardy Clause. This appellate court ruling illustrates that defendants in SEC investigations and enforcement proceedings must be mindful that the imposition of civil penalties, disgorgement, and permanent bars do not preclude the prospect of criminal prosecution.

Thomas D. Melvin (“Melvin”), a certified public accountant, agreed in April 2013 to pay the SEC a civil penalty of $108,930 and disgorgement of $68,826 to settle alleged violations of Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 thereunder. According to the SEC, Melvin purportedly had disclosed confidential insider information that he received from a client that pertained to the pending sale of a publicly traded company. A Rule 102(e) administrative proceeding in September 2015 also permanently barred Melvin from practicing before the SEC as an accountant. Exchange Act. Rel. No. 75844.

The Department of Justice instituted a parallel criminal proceeding against Melvin that involved the same alleged wrongful activity. Melvin moved to dismiss the eventual indictment on the ground that the collective sanctions the SEC had levied upon him constitutionally precluded a criminal prosecution under the Double Jeopardy Clause. After a federal district court denied his motion to dismiss, Melvin pleaded guilty to six counts of securities fraud pursuant to a written plea agreement. He then appealed the district court’s denial of his motion to dismiss.

In United States v. Melvin, No. 16-12061 (11th Cir. Feb. 3, 2017), the Eleventh Circuit conducted two inquiries to determine whether the imposition of the civil penalty, disgorgement and professional debarment against Melvin were so punitive that they rose to the level of a criminal penalty. For the initial inquiry, the court found that Congress intended the sanctions imposed by the SEC to be a form of civil punishment because monetary penalties are expressly labeled as “civil penalties” and the legislative branch empowered the SEC to prohibit an individual from appearing or practicing before it.

As to the second inquiry, the circuit court examined seven “useful guideposts” articulated by the United States Supreme Court in Hudson v. United States, 118 S. Ct. 488, 493 (1997). These guideposts included whether:

  1. “the sanction involves an affirmative disability or restraint”;
  2. “it has historically been regarded as a punishment”;
  3. “it comes into play only on a finding of scienter”;
  4. “its operation will promote the traditional aims of punishment—retribution and deterrence”;
  5. “the behavior to which it applies is already a crime”;
  6. “an alternative purpose to which it may rationally be connected is assignable for it”; and
  7. “it appears excessive in relation to the alternative purpose assigned.”

Applying these guideposts, the Eleventh Circuit believed that the sanctions at issue “constitute no affirmative disability or restraint approaching imprisonment” and observed that “neither money penalties nor debarment have historically been viewed as punishment.” It also noted that “penalties for security fraud serve other important nonpunitive goals, such as encouraging investor confidence, increasing the efficiency of financial markets, and promoting the stability of the securities industry.” As such, the appellate court concluded that Melvin’s criminal prosecution did not constitute a violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause.

This ruling is the most recent cautionary reminder that, even in this era of headline-grabbing civil penalties that far exceed those the SEC sought and obtained just a few years ago, defendants should never lose sight that the resolution of SEC charges does not preclude the prospect of a parallel criminal proceeding. Indeed, any time the SEC’s prosecutorial theory is potentially fraud-based, defendants and their counsel must remain extremely cautious to the possible involvement of criminal authorities and develop their legal strategies accordingly.

The SEC’s Form 1662 underscores this point. This form, which is provided to all persons requested to supply information voluntarily to the SEC or directed to do so via subpoena, states:

It is the policy of the Commission … that the disposition of any such matter may not, expressly or impliedly, extend to any criminal charges that have been, or may be, brought against any such person or any recommendation with respect thereto. Accordingly, any person involved in an enforcement matter before the Commission who consents, or agrees to consent, to any judgment or order does so solely for the purpose of resolving the claims against him in that investigative, civil, or administrative matter and not for the purpose of resolving any criminal charges that have been, or might be, brought against him.

The disposition of an SEC proceeding also does not prevent the SEC from sharing any information it has accumulated with criminal authorities. Instead, as Form 1662 warns, the SEC “often makes its files available to other governmental agencies, particularly United States Attorneys and state prosecutors” and there is “a likelihood” that the SEC will provide this information confidentially to these agencies “where appropriate.”

Update: SCOTUS Will Consider Statute of Limitations on Disgorgement

We previously wrote about how the SEC urged the Supreme Court to grant certiorari in Kokesh v. SEC, and on Friday, January 13, the Court did just that. In an order without comment, the Court granted certiorari after both the petitioner and the SEC requested the Court’s review, albeit for different reasons. While the petitioner believes he should not be subject to disgorgement for ill-gotten gains that were obtained more than five years ago, the SEC wants the Court to bring clarity to the circuit split that has developed since the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in SEC v. Graham, which held that the five-year statute of limitations applies to disgorgement. As we previously noted, the SEC argued that Graham impedes its ability to achieve uniformity in the administration of securities laws.

We will continue to monitor developments in this case, which is sure to shape the timing of future SEC enforcement investigations and actions and the remedies it will seek.

Jim Lundy Appointed as Independent Monitor in the CFTC v. 3Red Trading & Oystacher Manipulative Trading / Spoofing Matter

Chicago partner Jim Lundy was appointed by the Honorable Judge Amy J. St. Eve of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to serve as the independent monitor for one of the first “spoofing” manipulative trading enforcement actions instituted by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Jim’s appointment is part of a settlement between the CFTC and 3Red Trading LLC and its principal, Igor B. Oystacher, entered on December 20, 2016. Over the next three years, Jim will be responsible for monitoring the trading of 3Red and Oystacher, and identifying any future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Regulations as charged and pursuant to a monitoring agreement.

The CFTC filed its initial complaint on October 19, 2015. In its complaint, the CFTC alleged the employment of manipulative trading / spoofing by the Defendants in the markets for E-Mini S&P 500, Copper, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and VIX futures contracts on multiple exchanges.

In addition to the monitorship, as part of the settlement 3Red and Oystacher agreed to pay a $2.5 million penalty, jointly and severally. Judge St. Eve also ordered 3Red and Oystacher to employ certain compliance tools with respect to Oystacher’s futures trading on U.S. exchanges for an 18-month period, and permanently prohibited the Defendants from spoofing and the employment of manipulative or deceptive devices while trading futures contracts.

Additional information on the settlement and Jim’s appointment is discussed in Crain’s Chicago Business, 3 Red agrees to $2.5 million fine, monitoring.” (Log-in may be required).

Jim joined Drinker Biddle after working at the SEC for 12 years. During his tenure, he served in the Enforcement Division as a Senior Trial Counsel and a Branch Chief and in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations as a Senior Regulatory Counsel, where he assisted with operating the SEC’s broker-dealer examination program for the Midwest Region. Prior to joining Drinker Biddle, Jim worked in-house at a futures and securities brokerage firm affiliated with a European-based global bank and represented his firm before futures regulators, FINRA, and the SEC.

In Jim’s practice he represents clients in matters involving the various regulatory bodies with enforcement, examination, and policy oversight of the securities and futures industries.

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