On July 14, 2021 the SEC issued a consented-to Cease and Desist Order against U.K.-based cryptocurrency review website owner Blotics Ltd. (formerly doing business as Coinschedule Ltd.) for violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act. According to two SEC Commissioners, the decision should have but didn’t clarify the Commission’s position as to whether and when cryptocurrencies qualify as securities.
Lindsey Olson
DOJ Tax Division Shows Continued Interest in Cryptocurrency
By Lindsey Olson on
On May 5, 2021, another federal district court, this time for the Northern District of California, permitted the IRS to proceed with a John Doe summons very similar to the one served on Circle last month (the subject of a recent post). This time, the Summons seeks information on…
A Warning to Cryptocurrency Users from the Justice Department’s Tax Division
By Lindsey Olson on
As you might expect during tax season, the Justice Department’s press releases seem particularly focused on tax-related issues these days. At the start of this month, DOJ sent a stern reminder to the public that non-traditional currency users should not expect to escape federal tax law enforcement.
On April 1,…
Senate Considers Potential Changes to ECPA to Ease Access to Electronic Data Across Borders
By Joshua M. Newville & Lindsey Olson on
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 in a hearing titled “Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Across Borders.”
Proskauer Attorneys Pen Cover Article for New York Law Journal’s White-Collar Crime Special Report
By Joshua M. Newville & Lindsey Olson on
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. …
10 Takeaways from Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates’ Remarks at the 2016 New York City Bar Association White Collar Crime Conference
By Lindsey Olson & Sigal Mandelker on
This week, Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates delivered remarks at the New York City Bar Association reflecting on the eight months since the release of the “Yates Memo,” or as Deputy AG Yates prefers, the “Individual Accountability Policy” (“the Policy”). The Policy’s release in September 2015 followed prolonged criticism over a perceived lack of prosecution of individuals responsible for corporate misconduct. Aimed at increasing prosecutions of such individuals, the Policy outlined six directives to prosecutors, which we covered in an earlier post.
SEC Accepts DC Circuit’s Decision Vacating Retroactive Punishment
By Harry Frischer, Lindsey Olson & Rachel Wolkinson on
Following the D.C. Circuit’s July 14, 2015 decision in Koch et al. v. Securities and Exchange Commission, No. 14-1134 (D.C. Cir. July 14, 2015), which held that the SEC could not retroactively punish an investment advisor for conduct that occurred prior to the enactment of the statute authorizing the punishment, the SEC announced last week that it would not seek further review of that decision.