Publications
Securities Enforcement Quarterly
August 2022
August 2022
After issuing a flurry of rule-making proposals in the first quarter of 2022, SEC Chair Gensler appeared before Congress to advocate for additional personnel he believes necessary to keep pace with the SEC’s sweeping regulatory and enforcement mandate. For his part, Director Grewal, at an industry conference, expressed his concerns with the pace of the enforcement investigations and his frustration with the conduct of defense counsel delaying and/or inhibiting SEC investigations. This edition of Schulte Roth & Zabel’s Securities Enforcement Quarterly details these remarks and also focuses on the DOJ’s use of the wire fraud statute to prosecute insider trading in NFTs, and discusses a recent decision by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that outlaws the SEC from initiating enforcement proceedings before its internal panel of administrative law judges. This edition also describes the intersection of the SEC’s newly proposed SPAC rules with recent enforcement cases in the area, and finally, summarizes this quarter’s significant enforcement actions.
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Alerts
On March 1, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law an amended version of the New York LLC Transparency Act (“NYLTA”),[1] requiring certain limited liability companies (“LLCs”) formed or authorized to do business in New York (each, a “NY Reporting Company”) to file a beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) report with the NY Department of State (“NY DOS”). Each NY Reporting Company will be required to disclose on its BOI report identifying information pertaining to each individual who directly or indirectly exercises substantial control or owns or controls 25 percent or more of the ownership interests of a NY Reporting Company (each, a “Beneficial Owner”) and the individuals involved in the NY Reporting Company’s formation or registration to do business in New York (each, an “Applicant”). Information reported to NY DOS will be maintained in a private database not accessible to the public. The NYLTA goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2026 and requires the NY DOS to promulgate regulations implementing the legislation.
Alerts
On Feb. 16, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“Proposed Rule”)[1] continuing the process of implementing regulations to combat illicit finance risks posed by abuse by some in the real estate market. The Proposed Rule would require certain persons involved in residential real estate closings and settlements to submit reports (“Real Estate Reports”) and keep accurate records of certain non-financed transfers of US residential real property. The reasoning behind the Proposed Rule is explained extensively in FinCEN’s December 2021 Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Real Estate Transactions Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which discusses “the opacity of shell companies or other legal entity structures to mask true beneficial ownership of a property and their involvement in real estate transactions.”[2]
Alerts
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) passed its long-anticipated final Non-Compete Rule broadly prohibiting the use of worker non-competition restrictions. The Non-Compete Rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on May 7, 2024, and become effective 120 days later, on Sept. 4, 2024. To the extent the Non-Compete Rule is more restrictive than a state or local law, the Non-Compete Rule will supersede such other law. However, the validity of the Non-Compete Rule is already being challenged in three separate court cases and its effective date may be delayed.
Alerts
On April 24, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released final regulations (TD 9992) (“Final Regulations”) addressing the determination of whether a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) is “domestically controlled.” The Final Regulations finalize proposed regulations (REG-100442-22) (“Proposed Regulations”) under Section 897 of the Internal Revenue Code published on Dec. 29, 2022.[1]
Alerts
On March 1, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law an amended version of the New York LLC Transparency Act (“NYLTA”),[1] requiring certain limited liability companies (“LLCs”) formed or authorized to do business in New York (each, a “NY Reporting Company”) to file a beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) report with the NY Department of State (“NY DOS”). Each NY Reporting Company will be required to disclose on its BOI report identifying information pertaining to each individual who directly or indirectly exercises substantial control or owns or controls 25 percent or more of the ownership interests of a NY Reporting Company (each, a “Beneficial Owner”) and the individuals involved in the NY Reporting Company’s formation or registration to do business in New York (each, an “Applicant”). Information reported to NY DOS will be maintained in a private database not accessible to the public. The NYLTA goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2026 and requires the NY DOS to promulgate regulations implementing the legislation.
Alerts
On Feb. 16, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“Proposed Rule”)[1] continuing the process of implementing regulations to combat illicit finance risks posed by abuse by some in the real estate market. The Proposed Rule would require certain persons involved in residential real estate closings and settlements to submit reports (“Real Estate Reports”) and keep accurate records of certain non-financed transfers of US residential real property. The reasoning behind the Proposed Rule is explained extensively in FinCEN’s December 2021 Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Real Estate Transactions Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which discusses “the opacity of shell companies or other legal entity structures to mask true beneficial ownership of a property and their involvement in real estate transactions.”[2]
Alerts
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) passed its long-anticipated final Non-Compete Rule broadly prohibiting the use of worker non-competition restrictions. The Non-Compete Rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on May 7, 2024, and become effective 120 days later, on Sept. 4, 2024. To the extent the Non-Compete Rule is more restrictive than a state or local law, the Non-Compete Rule will supersede such other law. However, the validity of the Non-Compete Rule is already being challenged in three separate court cases and its effective date may be delayed.
Alerts
On April 24, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released final regulations (TD 9992) (“Final Regulations”) addressing the determination of whether a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) is “domestically controlled.” The Final Regulations finalize proposed regulations (REG-100442-22) (“Proposed Regulations”) under Section 897 of the Internal Revenue Code published on Dec. 29, 2022.[1]
Alerts
On March 1, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law an amended version of the New York LLC Transparency Act (“NYLTA”),[1] requiring certain limited liability companies (“LLCs”) formed or authorized to do business in New York (each, a “NY Reporting Company”) to file a beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) report with the NY Department of State (“NY DOS”). Each NY Reporting Company will be required to disclose on its BOI report identifying information pertaining to each individual who directly or indirectly exercises substantial control or owns or controls 25 percent or more of the ownership interests of a NY Reporting Company (each, a “Beneficial Owner”) and the individuals involved in the NY Reporting Company’s formation or registration to do business in New York (each, an “Applicant”). Information reported to NY DOS will be maintained in a private database not accessible to the public. The NYLTA goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2026 and requires the NY DOS to promulgate regulations implementing the legislation.