United States: 2020 Year-End Securities Enforcement Update

I. Introduction: Themes and Notable Developments

This year's update marks the end of the Trump administration and the beginning of the Biden administration. The change in leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission has already begun. In December, Jay Clayton stepped down as Chairman, and this week the Biden administration nominated Gary Gensler to be the new Chairman. Mr. Gensler was Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the Obama administration and presided over a period of heightened financial regulation and aggressive enforcement against major financial institutions. The Wall Street Journal predicts that Mr. Gensler could give Wall Street its "most aggressive regulator in two decades."¹ In addition to a new Chairman, 2021 will also bring new senior leadership to the Division of Enforcement, as the Division's Co-Directors have also left the agency.

In this update, we look back at the significant enforcement actions and developments from the last six months of 2020, and consider what to expect from new leadership at the Commission and the Enforcement Division. In sum, it is safe to say that the next four years will see a return to increasing regulatory oversight and escalated enforcement of market participants.

A. Back to the Future: A Look Back and the View Ahead

During the last six months of 2020, the SEC's enforcement program continued to follow the priorities emphasized by Chairman Clayton over the last four years, while also navigating the challenges presented by the pandemic.

In the last few months, there has also been a nearly complete departure of the senior-most leadership of the Division of Enforcement. In August and December, respectively, Division Co-Directors Steven Peikin and Stephanie Avakian, departed the agency. And in January, Marc Berger, who had been appointed Deputy Director and then Acting Director also announced that he will be leaving at the end of January.

In one of his last speeches, Chairman Clayton reflected on his tenure and echoed the theme that has defined enforcement during the last administration, namely a focus on "Main Street" investors.² In practice, and as the Chairman noted, this has translated into a significant number of enforcement actions against fraudulent securities offerings - Ponzi schemes, affinity frauds and other offering frauds - that targeted individual investors.

Of course, one of the notable challenges for the Enforcement Division this year was created by the COVID-19 pandemic. After overcoming the initial hurdles of conducting investigations remotely, the Enforcement staff continued to pursue investigations and bring enforcement actions. Nevertheless, from a numerical standpoint, the number of enforcement actions was off from the prior year. For fiscal 2020, the SEC brought a total of 715 enforcement actions (of which 405 were stand-alone enforcement actions), a significant decline from 862 actions in fiscal 2019 (of which 526 were stand-alone enforcement actions) - a decline of 23% in stand-alone enforcement actions.³

There was also a change from last year in the types of cases the SEC brought. For fiscal 2020, the largest single category of cases involved securities offerings, typically offering frauds or unregistered securities offerings. This category accounted for nearly one-third, or 32%, of the stand-alone enforcement actions, compared to 21% of the actions brought in 2019 (and compared to only 16% of the cases in the last year of the Obama administration). Other major categories of cases in fiscal 2020 included cases against investment advisers, which comprised 21% of the total (compared to 36% of the total in fiscal 2019) and cases involving public company financial reporting and disclosure, which comprised 15% of the total in fiscal 2020 (compared to 17% of the total in fiscal 2019).

Despite the decline in the number of cases, there was an increase in the amount of financial remedies (disgorgement and penalties) ordered in enforcement actions. For fiscal 2020, financial remedies totaled $4.68 billion, representing an increase of approximately 8% over the amount ordered in 2019. However, it should be noted that a substantial portion of the 2020 financial remedies was attributable to one case - a settlement with Telegram Group Inc. - in which the company was ordered to pay $1.2 billion in disgorgement, but was credited in full for returning the same amount to investors that had purchased the company's unregistered digital tokens. Removing this settlement from the financial remedies for fiscal 2020 would reduce the total amount recover to an amount well below the amount ordered in 2019.

Notwithstanding the challenges of the pandemic, the SEC brought a number of significant enforcement actions in the last half of 2020 that we discuss in greater detail in other sections of this update. In particular, the SEC brought a number of cases against public companies for financial reporting and disclosure issues. Three of these cases were the result of the Enforcement Division's "EPS Initiative," in which the staff used risk-based data analytics to identify potential earnings management practices.

Other significant cases were the result of the Enforcement Division's focus on cases related to the pandemic. In particular, the SEC brought the first enforcement action based on disclosures concerning a company's ability to operate sustainably despite the pandemic.

This year also saw a number of enforcement actions in the area of crypto-currency and other digital assets. In particular, shortly before the end of the year, the SEC filed a complaint against Ripple Labs for alleged violation of the securities registration provisions. The outcome of this litigation will have a significant impact on enforcement and regulation of the digital asset market in the future.

Another highlight of the last year has been the continued growth of the SEC's whistleblower program. This year is the tenth anniversary of the program and was also a year of record awards both in number and size. Increased efficiency in the award process is also ensuring that the program has become, and will continue to be, an important source of investigations for the future.

Looking ahead, there is little doubt that the new administration will bring a heightened level of enforcement activity. But more important, we can expect a shift in focus and priorities away from retail investors and securities offering frauds and an increased emphasis on the conduct of institutional market participants - investment advisers and broker-dealers, as well as public company accounting, financial reporting and disclosure.

Assuming Mr. Gensler is confirmed by the Senate to be the next SEC Chairman, his experience, both at the helm of the CFTC and since, confirm expectations for increased regulation and enforcement. Mr. Gensler oversaw the implementation of an entirely new regime for the regulation of the markets for derivatives as well as the adoption of numerous regulations pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFTC under his leadership also took aggressive enforcement actions against financial institutions in connection with the alleged manipulation of LIBOR. Mr. Gensler will also bring a strong interest in, and familiarity with, the market for crypto-currency and other digital tokens. This will ensure that the market for digital assets will receive particular attention in the coming years.

The last time there was a transition to a Democratic administration in 2008, the SEC confronted the financial crisis and the collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market. In the wake of the financial crisis, the SEC had a defined focus for investigation in distressed financial institutions and participants in the market for mortgage-backed securities. The SEC also adopted a number of initiatives to empower the enforcement program - some based in statute, such as the whistleblower program; others based in policy and practice, such as the encouragement of witness cooperation and the imposition of admissions on certain settling defendants.

The current transition in administrations follows a year of extreme market volatility caused by the pandemic, but also ending with the markets continuing to set records, benefiting from government stimulus and continued low interest rates. There is anticipation that as the COVID-19 crisis abates, the economy and markets will experience significant growth in the coming year. New Enforcement Division leadership will endeavor to identify areas of risk that they deem worthy of heightened scrutiny. In addition, oversight by a Democratic controlled House and Senate may further escalate pressure on the SEC to demonstrate its aggressiveness.

The takeaway from all of this is that the next four years will put a premium on legal and compliance departments and financial reporting functions of financial institutions, investment advisers, broker-dealers and public companies.

B. Commissioner and Senior Staffing Update

As the Trump administration wound down, there were a number of significant changes in the leadership of the Commission and the Enforcement Division. Looking ahead to the coming months, there will be further developments as a new Chairman is confirmed and new leadership of the Enforcement Division is appointed.

Simultaneous with Chairman Clayton's departure, the White House appointed Republican Commissioner Elad Roisman as Acting Chairman of the Commission. During the interim period following the inauguration of President-elect Biden, but before a new Chairman is nominated and confirmed, the White House could substitute the senior Democratic Commissioner, Allison Herren Lee, as Acting Chairman. Also during the second half of 2020, the other two Commissioners were sworn in: Democrat Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw filled the vacancy left by former Commissioner Robert Jackson, and Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce was sworn in for a second term, after her original term (for which she filled a vacancy in 2018) ended.

There were also significant changes in the leadership of the Enforcement Division. With the departure of the Co-Directors Peikin and Avakian, Marc Berger was appointed Acting Director of the Enforcement Division in December. This month, Mr. Berger also announced his departure. No Acting Director has been appointed as of this writing.

Other changes in the senior staffing of the Commission include:

• In August, Scott Thompson was appointed Associate Regional Director of Enforcement in the SEC's Philadelphia Regional Office. Mr. Thompson succeeds Kelly Gibson, who was appointed Director of the Philadelphia office in February 2020. Mr. Thompson has worked at the SEC since 2007, first as a trial attorney in the Enforcement Division and most recently as Assistant Regional Director from 2013 until his promotion in August 2020.
• Also in August, Richard Best was appointed Director of the SEC's New York Regional Office, succeeding Mr. Berger in the role. Mr. Best has worked at the SEC since 2015, serving in two other Regional Director roles-Salt Lake and Atlanta-before becoming the Director of the New York office. He also previously worked in FINRA's Department of Enforcement and as a prosecutor in the Bronx District Attorney's Office.
• In early December, Nekia Hackworth Jones was appointed Director of the SEC's Atlanta Regional Office. She joins the SEC from private practice where she specialized in government investigations and white collar criminal defense. Ms. Jones also previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia and in DOJ's Office of the Deputy Attorney General.

C. Legislative Developments: Disgorgement

With little fanfare, the SEC achieved a significant legislative success at the end of 2020, cementing its ability to obtain disgorgement in civil enforcement actions. On January 1, 2021, Congress voted to override the President's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA"), a military spending bill passed each year since 1961.⁴ Buried in the $740.5 billion bill was an amendment to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which gives the SEC explicit statutory authority to seek disgorgement in federal court.⁵ Under Section 6501 of the NDAA, the SEC is authorized to seek "disgorgement . . . of any unjust enrichment by the person who received such unjust enrichment."⁶ Perhaps more significant, the amendment establishes a ten-year statute of limitations for obtaining disgorgement for scienter-based violations of federal securities laws, doubling the 5-year standard previously established by the Supreme Court. The amendment applies to any action or proceeding that is pending on, or commenced after its enactment (i.e., January 1, 2020).

As discussed in a previous alert, the amendment is a response to two recent Supreme Court decisions which limited the SEC's authority to seek disgorgement, although the agency has a long history of seeking and receiving disgorgement: Kokesh v. SEC, 137 S. Ct. 1635 (2017) (imposing a five-year statute of limitations on disgorgement), and Liu v. SEC, 140 S. Ct. 1936 (2020) (which imposed equitable limitations on disgorgement, such as the limitation to net profits). The extension of the statute of limitations to ten years is a significant enhancement to the SEC's remedies since many cases involve conduct that extends more than five years before an action is filed. However, notably, the amendment does not expressly reverse the equitable limitations that the Supreme Court imposed on the disgorgement remedy in Liu. Accordingly, the SEC will continue to confront defenses grounded in equitable principles, such as deduction for legitimate expenses and the elimination of joint and several liability for disgorgement.

D. Whistleblower Awards

2020 marked the 10-year anniversary of the SEC's whistleblower program. It also marked a record year for the number of whistleblower awards, the total amount of money awarded and the largest single whistleblower award.⁷ During fiscal 2020, the Commission issued awards totaling approximately $175 million to 39 individual whistleblowers. As of the end of 2020, the SEC has awarded a total of approximately $736 million to 128 individual whistleblowers in the program's 10-year history.⁸ Perhaps equally notable, enforcement actions attributed to whistleblower tips have resulted in more than $2.5 billion in ordered financial remedies.

The increase in the number of awards is the result of the SEC's efforts to increase the efficiency of the claim review and award process. In September, the SEC also adopted amendments to the Whistleblower Rule to promote efficiencies in the review and processing of whistleblower award claims. The amendments aim to provide the Commission with tools to appropriately reward individuals, and include a presumption of the statutory maximum award for certain whistleblowers with potential awards of less than $5 million.⁹ For further discussion of the amendments to the Whistleblower Rule, see our prior alert on the subject.

The amendments also made one modification to the Whistleblower Rule that has proven to be controversial. As originally proposed in 2018, the amendment would have given the Commission authority to reduce the dollar amount of awards in cases with large monetary sanctions (in excess of $100 million). In the face of opposition from whistleblower advocates, the final rule dropped that amendment, and instead clarified that in determining the appropriate award, the Commission has discretion to consider both the percentage and the dollar amount of the award a discretion the Commission. In the adopting release, the Commission explained the modification as merely clarifying the discretion that the Commission always had in determining the appropriate award. One whistleblower advocate has already filed a suit against the SEC challenging the validity of the amendment under the Administrative Procedure Act.¹⁰

In October, the SEC also announced the largest award in the program's history-a payment of over $114 million to a whistleblower who provided information and assistance leading to successful enforcement actions.¹¹ The award, which consists of a $52 million award in connection with the SEC matter and a $62 million award arising out related actions by another agency, comes on the heels of the SEC's previous record-breaking $50 million whistleblower award in June.¹²

This year also saw a record level of tips received by the Office of the Whistleblower, as well as other complaints and referrals received by the Enforcement Division as a whole. The Office of the Whistleblower received over 6,900 tips in fiscal year 2020, a 31% increase over the second-highest tip year in fiscal year 2018.¹³ More broadly, the Enforcement Division received over 23,650 tips, complaints and referrals in fiscal 2020, a more than 40% increase over the prior year. Inevitably, the increase in tips this past year is likely to lead to an increase in the number of investigations in the years to come.

The SEC's whistleblower awards also emphasize the assistance whistleblowers contribute to investigations through industry expertise or simply expediting an investigation. For example, in November, the SEC made a payment of over $28 million to an individual who provided information that prompted a company's internal investigation, and who provided testimony and identified a key witness.¹⁴ Likewise, the SEC announced an award of over $10 million in October to a whistleblower, emphasizing the individual's substantial ongoing assistance, including help deciphering communications and distilling complex issues.¹⁵ Also of importance to the Commission is a whistleblower's efforts to reduce ongoing harm to investors. In December, the SEC announced an award of over $1.8 million to a whistleblower who took immediate steps to mitigate harm to investors.¹⁶ Additionally, the announcement noted the whistleblower's ongoing assistance, which saved time and resources of SEC staff.¹⁷

Other significant whistleblower awards granted during the second half of this year include:

• An award in July of $3.8 million to a whistleblower for information that allowed the SEC to disrupt an ongoing fraud scheme and led to a successful enforcement action.¹⁸
• An award in August of over $1.25 million for information leading to a successful enforcement action, resulting in the return of millions of dollars to investors.¹⁹
• Eleven awards in September, including a notable award of $22 million to an insider whistleblower whose tip led the SEC to open an investigation, and who provided ongoing assistance; and a $7 million award to another whistleblower who provided what the SEC deemed "valuable" information regarding the investigation.²⁰ Additional awards in September included an award of over $2.5 million to joint whistleblowers for a tip based on an independent analysis of a public company's filings, and for the whistleblowers' ongoing assistance in the SEC's investigation;²¹ a $10 million payment to an individual who provided information and assistance that were described as of "crucial importance" to the SEC's successful enforcement action;²² a $250,000 award to joint whistleblowers who raised concerns internally and whose tip to the SEC spurred the opening of an investigation and a successful enforcement action;²³ payment of $2.4 million to a whistleblower who provided information and assistance that ultimately stopped ongoing misconduct;²⁴ awards to totaling over $2.5 million to two whistleblowers who reported misconduct overseas;²⁵ an award of $1.8 million for information regarding ongoing securities law violations;²⁶ and four awards totaling almost $5 million for "critical information" resulting in a successful enforcement action.²⁷
• An award in October of $800,000 for information that caused the SEC to open an investigation leading to two successful enforcement actions.²⁸
• Four awards in November, including a payment of $3.6 million to a whistleblower who provided information and ongoing assistance to enforcement staff regarding misconduct abroad;²⁹ a $750,000 payment to an individual who met with enforcement staff and provided information regarding an ongoing fraud;³⁰ an award of over $1.1 million to a whistleblower who provided what the SEC described a "exemplary assistance," and led the staff to look at new conduct during an ongoing investigation;³¹ and a payment of over $900,000 to an individual who provided importantly information regarding securities law violations occurring overseas.³²
• Six awards in December, including payments totaling of over $6 million to joint whistleblowers who provided information, submitted documents, participated in interviews, and identified key witnesses leading to a successful enforcement action;³³ a payment of nearly $1.8 million to a company insider who provided information that would have otherwise been difficult to detect;³⁴ an award of approximately $750,000 to two whistleblowers who provided tips and substantial assistance to the staff, including participating in interviews and providing subject matter expertise;³⁵ a payment of almost $400,000 to two individuals who provided information that prompted the opening of an investigation and ongoing assistance to SEC staff;³⁶ an award of more than $300,000 to a whistleblower with audit-related responsibilities who provided "high-quality" information after becoming aware of potential securities law violations;³⁷ a payment of more than $1.2 million for a whistleblower who provided information leading to a successful enforcement action, but whose "culpability and unreasonable delay" impacted the award amount; and a $500,000 payment to a whistleblower who provided significant information and ongoing assistance, which led to a successful enforcement action.³⁸

II. Public Company Accounting, Financial Reporting and Disclosure Cases

Public company accounting and disclosure cases comprised a significant portion of the SEC's cases in the latter half of 2020, and included a range of actions concerning earnings management, revenue recognition, impairments, internal controls, and disclosures concerning financial performance.

A. Financial Reporting Cases

EPS Initiative

In September, the SEC announced the Enforcement Division's "Earnings Per Share (EPS) Initiative" and the settlement of its first two investigations arising from the Initiative. According to the press release announcing the settled actions, the SEC described the EPS Initiative as using "risk-based data analytics to uncover potential accounting and disclosure violations."³⁹ Based on the facts described in the two settled actions, the EPS Initiative is focused at least in part on detecting a practice known as "EPS smoothing," i.e., questionable accounting to achieve EPS results consistent with consensus analyst estimates. According to the SEC, the first company, a carpet manufacturer, made unsupported and non-GAAP-compliant manual accounting adjustments to multiple quarters in order to avoid EPS results falling below consensus estimates. The second company, a financial services company, used a valuation method that was inconsistent with the valuation methodology described in its filings, in order to appear to have consistent earnings over time. Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the carpet manufacturer agreed to pay a $5 million penalty to settle the charges; the financial services company agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty.

Based on our experience representing clients in such matters, the SEC's attention can be drawn simply by consistent EPS performance, even in the absence of any basis to suspect misconduct. In such circumstances, it is important to demonstrate to the Staff the integrity of accounting and financial reporting controls that negate the potential for improper accounting.

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Footnotes

1 Paul Kiernan and Scott Patterson, "An Old Foe of Banks Could Be Wall Street's New Top Cop," Wall Street Journal, Jan. 16, 2021, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-old-foe-of-banks-could-be-wall-streets-new-top-cop-11610773211.

2 Speech by Chairman Jay Clayton, "Putting Principles into Practice, the SEC from 2017-2020," Remarks to the Economic Club of New York, Nov. 12, 2020, available at https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/clayton-economic-club-ny-2020-11-19.

3 See 2020 Annual Report of U.S. SEC Division of Enforcement, available at https://www.sec.gov/files/enforcement-annual-report-2020.pdf.

4 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, H.R. 6395, 116th Cong. (2020).

5 Id.

6 Id.

7 Whistleblower Program, 2020 Annual Report to Congress, available at https://www.sec.gov/files/2020%20Annual%20Report_0.pdf.

8 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards Over $1.6 Million to Whistleblower (Dec. 22, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-333 .

9 SEC Press Release, SEC Adds Clarity, Efficiency, and Transparency to Its Successful Whistleblower Award Program (Sept. 23, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-219.

10 Lydia DePhillis, "The SEC Undermined a Powerful Weapon Against White-Collar Crime," ProPublica (Jan. 13, 2021), available at https://www.propublica.org/article/the-sec-undermined-a-powerful-weapon-against-white-collar-crime.

11 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues Record $114 Million Whistleblower Award (Oct. 22, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-266 .

12 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues Record $114 Million Whistleblower Award (Oct. 22, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-266.

13 Whistleblower Program, 2020 Annual Report to Congress, available at https://www.sec.gov/files/2020%20Annual%20Report_0.pdf.

14 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards Over $28 Million to Whistleblower (Nov. 3, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-275 .

15 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards Over $10 Million to Whistleblower (Oct. 29, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-270.

16 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues Multiple Whistleblower Awards Totaling Over $3.6 Million (Dec. 18, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-325.

17 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues Multiple Whistleblower Awards Totaling Over $3.6 Million (Dec. 18, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-325.

18 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues $3.8 Million Whistleblower Award (July 14, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-155 .

19 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards Over $1.25 Million to Whistleblower (Aug. 31, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-199.

20 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards Almost $30 Million to Two Insider Whistleblowers (Sept. 30, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-239.

21 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards Over $2.5 Million to Joint Whistleblowers for Detailed Analysis That Led to Multiple Successful Actions (Sept. 1, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-201.

22 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards More Than $10 Million to Whistleblowers (Sept. 14, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-209.

23 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards Almost $250,000 to Joint Whistleblowers (Sept. 17, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-214.

24 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues $2.4 Million Whistleblower Award (Sept. 21, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-215.

25 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues Two Whistleblower Awards for High-Quality Information Regarding Overseas Conduct (Sept. 25, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-225.

26 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues $1.8 Million Whistleblower Award to Company Outsider (Sept. 28, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-231.

27 SEC Press Release, SEC Whistleblower Program Ends Record-Setting Fiscal Year With Four Additional Awards (Sept. 30, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-240.

28 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards $800,000 to Whistleblower (Oct. 15, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-255.

29 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards More Than $3.6 Million and $750,000 in Separate Whistleblower Awards (Nov. 5, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-278.

30 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards More Than $3.6 Million and $750,000 in Separate Whistleblower Awards (Nov. 5, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-278.

31 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards Over $1.1 Million to Whistleblower for Independent Analysis (Nov. 13, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-283.

32 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards Whistleblower Over $900,000 (Nov. 19, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-288.

33 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards Over $6 Million to Joint Whistleblowers (Dec. 1, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-297.

34 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues Multiple Whistleblower Awards Totaling Nearly $3 Million (Dec. 7, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-307.

35 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues Multiple Whistleblower Awards Totaling Nearly $3 Million (Dec. 7, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-307.

36 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues Multiple Whistleblower Awards Totaling Nearly $3 Million (Dec. 7, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-307.

37 SEC Press Release, SEC Awards More Than $300,000 to Whistleblower with Audit Responsibilities (Dec. 14, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-316.

38 SEC Press Release, SEC Issues Multiple Whistleblower Awards Totaling Over $3.6 Million (Dec. 18, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-325.

39 SEC Press Release, SEC Charges Companies, Former Executives as Part of Risk-Based Initiative (Sept. 28, 2020), available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-226.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.