SEC Charges Austin’s SolarWinds, CISO with Fraud

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges Monday against SolarWinds Corporation, an Austin publicly traded company that provides information infrastructure software used by thousands of businesses and government agencies, for alleged failures regarding cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities. The SEC's complaint filed in New York that accuses SolarWinds and its chief information security officer, Timothy G. Brown, with making “materially false and misleading statements and omissions related to SolarWinds’ cybersecurity risks and practices in at least three types of public disclosures” between 2018 and 2020.

October 30, 2023 Mark Curriden

Pharma Marketer Guilty in $60 Million Fraud and Kickback Scheme

Quintan Cockerell was paid millions to steer doctors to write expensive, often needless, prescriptions to two Fort Worth pharmacies, federal investigators said. After a week of testimony and four days of deliberations, a jury in the court of U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer agreed on Thursday.

October 26, 2023 Bruce Tomaso

Receiver’s Request for Criminal Defense Lawyer’s File Draws NACDL, TCDLA Challenge

The subpoenaed criminal defense attorney, former federal prosecutor Richard Kuniansky, told The Lawbook the request from receiver Levi Benton, a former Harris County civil district judge, was “crazy,” and said if Benton is allowed access to the entire file it would have ramifications well beyond this case. The client, Ataa Shadi, was sued in civil court by duped investors who got a $3 million default judgment against him in 2020. He was indicted on related criminal fraud charges in May.

October 25, 2023 Michelle Casady

‘Marketing’ or ‘Bribery’? Closing Arguments in Federal Pharma Fraud Trial in Dallas

The defense lawyer for Quintan Cockerell says he did nothing illegal by telling doctors they should consider using the costly medications prepared by 2 pharmacies that paid Cockerell millions of dollars. The government says he was taking kickbacks for inducing doctors to send prescriptions to the pharmacies.

October 17, 2023 Bruce Tomaso

Ex-Wife of Pharmacy Marketer Testifies She Was Paid Lavishly for Doing Nothing

Kristin Najarian said her former husband, Quintan Cockerell, arranged for her to be put on the payroll of a Fort Worth pharmacy that, according to federal prosecutors, paid Cockerell millions of dollars in kickbacks. In one month alone, she said, she was paid $711,706.47 even though “I wasn’t working there.”

October 12, 2023 Bruce Tomaso

Pharmacy Marketer Accused of Taking Kickbacks in Criminal Trial

The co-owner of two Fort Worth pharmacies testified in federal court that Quintan Cockerell made “millions a month” by steering doctors to send in thousands of prescriptions for costly compounded medicines.

October 12, 2023 Bruce Tomaso

Texas Securities Board Calls Investment Firm Claiming Ties to Russian Oil Producers a Ponzi Scheme

In a cease-and-desist order, state regulators bar BigWhale.io and two individuals based in the United Arab Emirates from offering unregistered, deceptive securities to Texans.

October 6, 2023 Bruce Tomaso

The Evolving Role of ESG in M&A: Balancing Risks and Opportunities

Environmental, social and governance considerations play an increasingly important role in M&A transactions. In any given deal, however, it can be challenging to qualitatively and quantitatively assess relevant ESG factors, perform appropriate levels of ESG due diligence and plan for appropriate remedial steps or capture ESG opportunities post-closing. M&A acquirers should seek experienced guidance on these considerations to enhance value, mitigate risks and better incorporate financial and non-financial measures into their deal evaluations.

October 5, 2023 Lande Spottswood & Jon Solorzano

Fifth Circuit Upholds Forest Park Medical Center Convictions

An appellate panel rejects every ground raised by seven convicted defendants in one of the biggest medical fraud cases in Texas history.

October 2, 2023 Bruce Tomaso

Perella Weinberg and Tudor, Pickering, Holt to Pay $2.5M for SEC Violations

Houston-based Tudor, Pickering, Holt and its owner, New York-based Perella Weinberg Partners, have agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine for violating federal securities laws’ recordkeeping provisions, according to an administrative order filed Friday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The allegations against the Texas-headquartered boutique energy banker and its parent were announced in a blitz of charges filed Friday by the SEC as the federal government comes to the end of its fiscal year and as the agency and the government face a potential shutdown. 

September 29, 2023 Mark Curriden

Clear Channel Outdoor Pays $26M to SEC on FCPA Charges

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged San Antonio-based Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. regarding actions taken by employees at a then-Chinese subsidiary to bribe Chinese government officials to obtain outdoor advertising contracts in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

In a 13-page order issued Thursday, SEC officials announced that Clear Channel and its majority-owned subsidiary in China called Clear Media Limited — a subsidiary it has since sold — had “consented” to the federal agency’s findings that it violated anti-bribery, recordkeeping and internal accounting controls provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

September 29, 2023 Mark Curriden

Enforcement Imperialism or Applying Precedent? SEC’s NFT Enforcement Actions Reignite Digital Asset Debate

Overreach. Jurisdictional landgrab. Regulation by enforcement. These terms and expressions — and many more “colorful” turns of phrase — are used by some to describe the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approach to enforcement at the intersection of digital assets and the federal securities laws. The SEC has repeatedly rejected such claims and has yet to act upon industry calls for increased clarity and guidance.

But it is the SEC’s most recent enforcement actions — its first two cases involving nonfungible tokens — that have yet again brought forth the SEC’s critics. What should we make of these first-of-their-kind enforcement actions? Doesn’t the lack of fungibility of NFTs move these tokens outside the SEC’s jurisdictional reach, making this the latest example of overreach? Or are these matters simply the latest actions in line with the SEC’s longstanding enforcement approach?

September 28, 2023 Scott Mascianica & Jessica Magee