Tagged: william galvin

State of Massachusetts Seeks to Revoke Robinhood’s Broker Dealer License, Robinhood Responds

In a blog post today, Robinhood responded to an attempt by the State of Massachusetts Securities Division to revoke Robinhood’s broker-dealer license in the state thus blocking its ability to operate. Robinhood said they have filed in Massachusetts State Court a complaint and motion for… Read More

Massachusetts Securities Regulator Expected to File Complaint Against Robinhood – Report

Robinhood, a digital investment platform that has encouraged a new generation of investors to enter the markets, is a target of an administrative complaint by the State of Massachusetts, according to the WSJ.com According to the report, Massachusetts Securities Division said that “Robinhood failed to… Read More

SEC’s Concept Release Comment Period Closes. So What Say You on Regulatory Harmonization & Access to Capital?

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially closed comments on its concept release regarding regulatory harmonization of securities offerings exemptions on September 24, 2019. But as in past cases, comments have continued to trickle in and we would not be surprised if more follow. That… Read More

Reg CF: In More than 3 Years this Crowdfunding Exemption has Seen Zero Fraud in Contrast to What Some Expected

Reg CF [Regulation Crowdfunding], the smallest of the three crowdfunding exemptions created by the bi-partisan JOBS Act of 2012, became officially actionable in May of 2016. In that time, hundreds of issuers have raised money on FINRA regulated “funding portals” taking advantage of the internet… Read More

State of Massachusetts Creates Fintech Working Group

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin has created a “Fintech Working Group. Galvin’s office oversees the states’ securities regulation. According to a report in the Boston Business Journal, Galvin had this to say about creating the Fintech group: “This working group includes key players from… Read More

State of Massachusetts Issues “Cryptocurrency ICO Sweep” Regarding Alleged Securities Violations

The State of Massachusetts Securities Division, under the direction of Secretary William Galvin, has issued a series of Consent Orders pertaining to five different initial coin offerings (ICOs). The following issuers received the orders: 18Moons, Inc Across Platforms, Inc. DBA ClickableTV SparkCo Inc, DBA Librium… Read More

Massachusetts Securities Division Takes Enforcement Action Against Caviar ICO, based in Cayman

The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Securities Division has filed an administrative complaint against Kirill Bensonoff and Caviar, a Cayman Island company. Bensonoff is said to own a home in Brookline, Massachusetts and is described as attempting to avoid US securities laws by operating out… Read More

Montana & Massachusetts Update “Fools Errand” SEC Lawsuit

The states of Massachusetts and Montana have filed a joint preliminary statement of issues. Once again the two state securities regulators, William Galvin in Massachusetts and Monica Lindeen in Montana, are reiterating their criticism of the SEC and recently enacted rules for Regulation A+. The… Read More

Montana Denied: Regulation A+ Still A Go As SEC Denies Montana’s Request to Stay

As you may know, Montana has filed a “Petition For Review” to challenge the final rules adopted by the SEC under Title IV of the JOBS Act (commonly referred to as Regulation A+). In connection with its suit, Monica J. Lindeen, Montana State Auditor and… Read More

Crowdfunding Industry Fights Back: Issues Statement Opposing State Lawsuit to Block Regulation A+

CFIRA and CfPA Issue Joint Statement Regarding Lawsuit Against the SEC to Block Implementation of Regulation A+, Title IV of the JOBS Act In a joint statement released today by the leadership of crowdfunding industry associations Crowdfunding Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) and the Crowdfunding Professional… Read More

The State of Massachusetts vs. Regulation A+: State Regulators Take the SEC to Court

On the eve of the 2015 Memorial Day weekend, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin set the stage for what I expect will be the final chapter in the continuing saga of what has popularly been referred to as Regulation A+,  a newly created avenue… Read More

Massachusetts Schedules Hearing on Crowdfunding Exemption, Solicits Comments from the Public

The state of Massachusetts, under the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, enacted “emergency” crowdfunding regulations this past January. Secretary William Galvin, previously identified as highly skeptical of investment crowdfunding having vocally criticized the new form of finance, surprised industry followers when the rules… Read More

Massachusetts Securities Division Adopts Crowdfunding Exemption

In a report from a local Media General TV station, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin was quoted stating that Massachusetts has “adopted a crowdfunding exemption”.  While regulations were not readily available a Crowdfunding tips document was posted on the Secretary’s web site (embedded… Read More

Regulation A+: A Sleeping Giant For Small Business Capital Formation?

Since the 1930’s Regulation A has been unremarkable as a little known and little used “exemption” from the full SEC registration process – intended to allow smaller companies to access public markets through a streamlined SEC registration process – with “reviewed” financial statements and no… Read More

Can the JOBS Act Save The American Dream?

Photo courtesy John Morgan on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidanmorgan/

A recently Marist-McClatchy poll found that eight out of 10 Americans no longer believe they can achieve the American Dream. Almost the same percentage of those polled said that things will not get better for future generations. The level of pessimism regarding the present economy… Read More

Regulation A+ Offerings: A New Era at the SEC

December 18, 2013 may well mark an historic turning point in the ability of small business to effectively access capital in the private and public markets under the federal securities regulatory framework.

Massachusetts “Dismayed” & “Shocked” Over Regulation A Proposals

Filed on the exact same day that the request for comments were open on the Securities and Exchange Commission platform, the state of Massachusetts posted a comment letter regarding proposed regulations for the new Regulation A under Title IV of the JOBS Act of 2012…. Read More

BRIEF: Massachusetts Crowdfunding Watchdog Releases Educational Brochure

The State of Massachusetts, under the direction of Secretary of State William Galvin, spun up a crowdfunding watchdog group called I-Crowd. Yesterday the group released a brochure aimed at educating the public on what to watch for when considering investing in crowdfunding offerings. The I-Crowd… Read More

What Does General Solicitation Have To Do With A Jiffy Lube Employee Defrauding A Massachusetts Woman?

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin has taken a public stance on general solicitation, citing it as a risk to potential investors. This is at least in part the reason behind his launching a task force aimed at policing crowdfunding platforms, offerings and their issuers…. Read More

Crowdfunding Efforts Draw Suspicion

Regulators are scrutinizing about 200 websites set up by entrepreneurs to profit from a more lenient law on the sale of shares in small companies. State securities officials identified the websites after a sweep of thousands of Internet addresses for possible threats to investors following… Read More