Securities and Commodities Enforcement - Criminal Prosecutions and Civil Injunctions

• NCJ Number: 79278
• Author(s): H M Friedman
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 238 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: University of Toledo
• Sale Source: Lexington Books
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This text examines the governmental enforcement of Federal securities laws, with emphasis on provisions of general applicability to issuers and investors. It focuses on those issues likely to be faced by counsel in defending clients charged with securities or commodities violations.

Abstract

Enforcement of the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the continuous reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the antifraud provisions of both these statutes are the predominant concerns in the discussion of Federal securities laws. The text begins with an exploration of the scope and procedures of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation. This investigation precedes any decision to recommend criminal prosecution or any institution of criminal charges. Also discussed are SEC's enforcement alternatives: formal and informal administrative sanctions, civil injunctive actions, and referral for criminal prosecution. The types of ancillary relief in SEC injunctive actions that have been developed and the role that such remedies play in enforcing the Federal securities law are examined, and issues involved in establishing the basic elements of securities violations are reviewed. The text also provides an understanding of the state-of-mind requirements in securities cases, the meaning of collateral participation in securities violations, the actions for which corporations can be held criminally responsible, and the applicability of U.S. securities laws to transnational transactions. Additional discussion focuses on the relevance of Title 18's criminal provisions as alternative prosecutorial options, the regulatory pattern of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974, State blue-sky laws (securities statutes), and disposition and sentencing in securities cases. Finally, ethical problems faced by defense attorneys in these cases and legislative reform measures concerning the Federal criminal and securities codes are examined. Chapter notes, data tables, an index, and a table of statutes, rules, and other authorities are presented.