Joshua M. Newville
Joshua M. Newville is a partner in the Litigation Department and a member of Proskauer's White Collar Defense & Investigations Group and the Asset Management Litigation team.
Josh handles securities litigation, enforcement and regulatory matters, representing corporations and senior executives in civil and criminal investigations. In addition, Josh advises registered investment advisers and private fund managers on regulatory compliance, SEC exams, MNPI/insider trading and related risks.
Before joining Proskauer, Josh was senior counsel in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, where he investigated and prosecuted violations of the federal securities laws. Josh served in the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit, a specialized unit focusing on investment advisers and the asset management industry. His prior experience with the SEC provides a unique perspective to help asset managers manage risk and handle regulatory issues.
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The organizers of an initial coin offering (ICO) recently won dismissal of an investor’s fraud claims by establishing that their public risk disclosures negated the investor’s claims of reliance on alleged misstatements. The project, a video service provider’s ICO, was governed by a purchase agreement called a “Simple Agreement for Future Tokens” (“SAFT”). The plaintiff … Continue Reading
In late October, a New York district court refused to dismiss the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) indictment against defendant Nathaniel Chastain, who was charged with wire fraud and money laundering relating to his using insider knowledge to purchase non-fungible tokens (NFTs) prior to them being featured on OpenSea, an online NFT marketplace, and later selling … Continue Reading
The SEC spread its reach to Hollywood this month – on October 3, 2022, the SEC announced charges against Kim Kardashian for her social media promotions of EMAX, a digital token issued by EthereumMax. The SEC found that Kardashian violated the anti-touting provision of the federal securities laws by failing to disclose the $250,000 payment … Continue Reading
Both the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and leader of the SEC agree that the crypto markets need regulating, and specific rules may help clarify which agency has authority to regulate various cryptocurrency activities. The client alert below discusses both CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam’s comments and SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s remarks during … Continue Reading
In Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a remarkable opinion holding numerous aspects of the SEC’s administrative enforcement regime are unconstitutional. The May 18, 2022 ruling stands to eliminate the SEC’s ability to adjudicate enforcement actions seeking penalties using ALJs, rather than bringing suit in federal … Continue Reading
With new types of digital assets and related business on the rise, federal authorities have been busy investigating. Recently, the SEC, FinCEN and the CFTC have imposed some notable settlements involving cryptocurrency trading platforms for allegedly operating without appropriate approvals from financial regulatory authorities. This may be the start of the next wave of government … Continue Reading
The SEC recently charged a former employee of a biopharmaceutical company with insider trading in advance of an acquisition but with a unique twist: Trading the securities of a company unrelated to the merger. The employee, Matthew Panuwat, did not trade his own company’s or the acquiring company’s securities, but instead purchased stock options for … Continue Reading
In late December 2020, the SEC filed a litigated action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executive officers (collectively, “Ripple”), alleging that Ripple raised over $1.3 billion in unregistered offerings of the digital asset known as XRP. Ripple opted not to … Continue Reading
On June 4, we posted a summary of SEC Enforcement Co-Director Steven Peikin observations during his recent keynote address at the New York City Bar Association’s 7th Annual White Collar Crime Institute. Co-Director Peikin imparted a few suggested “do’s and don’ts” for effective communication with the SEC during the Wells process. Although Co-Director Peikin’s suggestions should serve as … Continue Reading
During his recent keynote address at the New York City Bar Association’s 7th Annual White Collar Crime Institute, SEC Enforcement Co-Director Steven Peikin imparted a few suggested “do’s and don’ts” for effective communication with the SEC during the Wells process—typically the last opportunity to address potential charges prior to the authorization of a SEC enforcement … Continue Reading
Last week, the staff of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) recently released its sixth annual examination priorities announcement. The alert lays out general issues industry can expect OCIE to focus on during the administration of the agency’s examination program in 2018. While reflecting a renewed emphasis of SEC Chair Jay Clayton … Continue Reading
Terrorist attacks, most recently in London and Manchester, England, have raised the pressure on law enforcement and lawmakers in countries like the U.K. and the U.S., to proactively intercept and interrupt terrorist communications. On May 24, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism addressed practical issues regarding warrants for overseas data … Continue Reading
The SEC has continued to pursue a number of insider trading cases this year, both large-scale and small. Some of those matters involved trades that yielded relatively small amounts of profits: $40,000-$60,000. Why does the enforcement division spend resources on these smaller cases? First, they serve as a reminder that violations can be identified, even … Continue Reading
On Friday, the SEC filed a complaint against James C. Cope, a former member of the Executive Committee of Pinnacle Financial Partners’ (“PFP”) board of directors, alleging that he engaged in insider trading. The same day, Cope pleaded guilty to related insider trading charges brought by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of … Continue Reading
Proskauer partner Joshua M. Newville and associate Lindsey A. Olson recently wrote the lead article for New York Law Journal’s White-Collar Crime special report. In the article, they discuss how proposed amendments to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 could affect financial fraud investigations by the SEC and DOJ. For more information, please read … Continue Reading
On September 9, 2016, the SEC filed a complaint against RPM International Inc. (“RPM”) and the company’s General Counsel/CCO. The SEC claims the company filed false and misleading SEC filings that failed to disclose any loss contingency relating to a DOJ investigation that the company eventually settled for $60.9 million. The complaint also charged the … Continue Reading
A handful of recent SEC defeats in administrative proceedings have caused us to question the conventional narrative that the SEC has a distinct “home field advantage” before its own administrative law judges. According to analysis conducted by the Wall Street Journal, the SEC had a 90% win rate in contested cases it brought before its … Continue Reading
Earlier today, the SEC announced that it will adopt certain amendments to its rules of practice governing administrative proceedings. Faced with criticism from practitioners and the media regarding a perceived “home field advantage” in administrative proceedings, as well as various constitutional challenges to the ALJ process, the SEC has now approved amendments “intended to update … Continue Reading
A three judge panel in the Eleventh Circuit issued a ruling last Thursday in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Barry Graham et al., Case No. 14-13562, holding—contrary to several other circuits—that the remedy of disgorgement was effectively a forfeiture, and therefore subject to the standard five-year statute of limitations. The SEC brought this case in … Continue Reading
Yesterday, SEC Director of Enforcement Andrew Ceresney gave a keynote address on Private Equity Enforcement. In his remarks, Ceresney reiterated the SEC’s view that private equity is and will be a key enforcement area, and detailed recent actions showing the Commission’s particular focus on undisclosed fees and expenses and on increasing transparency in the industry. … Continue Reading
Fraud Claims Against Token Issuer Dismissed Based on Disclosures to Accredited Investor
By Joshua M. Newville and Jonathan Mollod on Posted in Securities Litigation
District Court Declines to Dismiss NFT “Insider Trading” Indictment against Former OpenSea Employee
By Joshua M. Newville on Posted in Corporate Governance, Fiduciary Duty, Fraud, White Collar
Keeping Up With Kim Kardashian’s SEC Charges
By Margaret A. Dale, Joshua M. Newville and Hena M. Vora on Posted in SEC Enforcement, Securities Law, Securities Litigation
CFTC Head Urges Congressional Action on Crypto while SEC Leader Says Crypto Rulemaking is “Years Away”
Fifth Circuit Holds SEC’s In-House Courts and Judges Unconstitutional
By Joshua M. Newville and Julia Alonzo on Posted in SEC Enforcement, Securities Law
U.S. Federal Regulators Turn Up the Heat on Cryptocurrency Trading Platforms
By Julia M. Ansanelli, Joshua M. Newville, Seetha Ramachandran and Samuel J. Waldon on Posted in Securities Law, White Collar
MNPI Update: SEC Pursues “Shadow Trading” Insider Trading Case
By Robert Leonard, Michael Mavrides, Joshua M. Newville, Jonathan Richman and Samuel J. Waldon on Posted in Fiduciary Duty, Hedge Fund, Private Investment Funds, SEC Enforcement, Securities Litigation, White Collar
Three Critical Questions That Will (Hopefully) be Answered by the SEC’s Lawsuit against Ripple
By Samuel J. Waldon, Joshua M. Newville and Timothy W. Mungovan on Posted in SEC Enforcement, Securities Law, Securities Litigation
SEC Enforcement Co-Director Gives Guidance for Wells Process, Part 2
By Samuel J. Waldon, Joshua M. Newville and Brian A. Hooven on Posted in SEC Enforcement, Securities Law, White Collar
SEC Enforcement Co-Director Gives Guidance for Wells Process
By Samuel J. Waldon, Joshua M. Newville and Brian A. Hooven on Posted in SEC Enforcement, Securities Law, White Collar
SEC Staff Announces 2018 OCIE Examination Priorities
By Joshua M. Newville and Anthony M. Drenzek on Posted in Hedge Funds, Securities Law, Securities Regulatory
Senate Considers Potential Changes to ECPA to Ease Access to Electronic Data Across Borders
By Joshua M. Newville and Lindsey Olson on Posted in SEC Enforcement, White Collar
SEC Continues to Use Advanced Data Analytics to Investigate Insider Trading
By Joshua M. Newville and Julia M. Ansanelli on Posted in SEC Enforcement, Securities Law, Securities Regulatory
SEC and DOJ Charge Board Member with Trading on Inside Information . . . During a Board Meeting
By Joshua M. Newville, Sigal Mandelker and Brian A. Hooven on Posted in SEC Enforcement, White Collar
Proskauer Attorneys Pen Cover Article for New York Law Journal’s White-Collar Crime Special Report
By Joshua M. Newville and Lindsey Olson on Posted in SEC Enforcement, Securities Law
SEC Sues Company and its GC/CCO for Failure to Disclose and Accrue Charge for a Pending DOJ Investigation
By Joshua M. Newville and Russell Kostelak on Posted in SEC Enforcement, Securities Law
Who Wins in SEC Administrative Proceedings?
By Joshua M. Newville and Samantha Springer on Posted in SEC Enforcement
SEC Adopts Amendments to Rules Governing Its Administrative Proceedings
Eleventh Circuit Rules Disgorgement No Different Than Forfeiture, Barring SEC From Seeking Ill-Gotten Gains Outside Five-Year Limitations Period
By Joshua M. Newville and Pietro Deserio on Posted in SEC Enforcement, Securities Law, White Collar
SEC Increases Focus on Private Equity Enforcement
By Anthony M. Drenzek, Joshua M. Newville and Sigal Mandelker on Posted in SEC Enforcement
