On January 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged an investment adviser with offering to sell $500 billion in fictitious securities, using social media such as LinkedIn. The SEC press release on the case stated that the adviser, Anthony Fields, “used LinkedIn discussions to promote fictitious ‘bank guarantees’ and ‘medium-term notes’,” and that his postings “resulted in interest from multiple purported potential buyers.” In connection with this case, the SEC also issued a National Examination Risk Alert and an Investor Alert to warn other investment advisers and the public, respectively, about fraudulent investment schemes’ use of social media.
This post was originally published on the legacy ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Notice and Comment blog, which merged with the Yale Journal on Regulation Notice and Comment blog in 2015.
On January 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged an investment adviser with offering to sell $500 billion in fictitious securities, using social media such as LinkedIn. The SEC press release on the case stated that the adviser, Anthony Fields, “used LinkedIn discussions to promote fictitious ‘bank guarantees’ and ‘medium-term notes’,” and that his postings “resulted in interest from multiple purported potential buyers.” In connection with this case, the SEC also issued a National Examination Risk Alert and an Investor Alert to warn other investment advisers and the public, respectively, about fraudulent investment schemes’ use of social media.
This post was originally published on the legacy ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Notice and Comment blog, which merged with the Yale Journal on Regulation Notice and Comment blog in 2015.