Litigation Release No. 25005 / January 8, 2021
Securities and Exchange Commission v. ConTXT, Inc, Thomas J. Robbins, Daniel J. Merriman, Mark W. Wiseman, and Clark J. Madsen, No. 2:21-cv-00013 (U.S. District Court, District of Utah) filed January 7, 2021.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against a Utah corporation, its principals, and two securities fraud recidivists for allegedly orchestrating two inter-related frauds resulting in approximately $11 million in investor losses.
According to the SEC s complaint, Thomas J. Robbins and Daniel J. Merriman met while incarcerated for separate and unrelated securities fraud convictions. The complaint alleges that after they were released, Robbins and Merriman created a high-yield trading program, and that, beginning in 2016, Robbins and Merriman solicited investor funds through a series of representations, including: that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a client; that they had con
SEC Charges Deutsche Bank With FCPA Violations Related to Third-Party Intermediaries Date
08/01/2021
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Deutsche Bank AG for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). As part of coordinated resolutions with the SEC and the Department of Justice, Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay more than $120 million, which includes more than $43 million to settle the SEC’s charges.
According to the SEC’s order, Deutsche Bank engaged foreign officials, their relatives, and their associates as third-party intermediaries, business development consultants, and finders to obtain and retain global business. The order finds that Deutsche Bank lacked sufficient internal accounting controls related to the use and payment of such intermediaries, resulting in approximately $7 million in bribe payments or payments for unknown, undocumented, or unauthorized services. The order further finds that these pa
Litigation Release No. 25003 / December 31, 2020
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Bowser et al., No. 2:20-civ-00918-TS (D. Utah filed December 30, 2020)
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged William Bill Bowser, Christopher Ashby, Scott Beynon, and Jordan Nelson with securities fraud for misappropriating investor funds meant for the development and construction of new event centers.
The SEC s complaint alleges that from approximately January 2017 to February 2019, Ashby, Beynon, and Nelson, through entities they controlled, sold investors interests in for-profit event centers purportedly being developed by Noah Corporation, an entity Bowser controlled. As alleged, Bowser diverted investor funds earmarked for specific properties and instead used them for Noah Corporation s and Bowser s operational and other expenses and to pay prior investors, rather than for construction of event centers as represented to investors. The complaint further alleges that contrary to