Tagged: fraud

October 9, 2013 @ 9:50 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

In the wake of legalized general solicitation under Rule 506(c), some media outlets, individuals and pundits have shared information that is not accurate. See this infographic as an example, which appeared on Forbes. That isn’t to pick on Forbes or the creators of that infographic…. Read More

September 10, 2013 @ 9:36 am By Brian Knight  |  

With the recent confirmation of Mary Jo White as Chairman of the SEC and Kara Stein, and Michael Piwowar as SEC Commissioners, the leadership of the SEC is undergoing significant changes that will affect public policy for years to come. It has been argued that… Read More

August 19, 2013 @ 9:35 am By Charles Luzar  |  

A small, albeit interesting, Monday morning blurb: Neil Singh is now an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Arizona, defending the state against civil lawsuits in state and federal courts. Who is Neil Singh? He took the crowdfunding world by storm after pursuing legal… Read More

August 18, 2013 @ 7:28 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Cincinnati, Ohio ABC affiliate WCPO recently did a report on Candace Klein and SoMoLend. Included in the report was an interview with Ian Edwards, who identified himself as an investor in SoMoLend and a former VP at Proctor & Gamble. He says that Klein may… Read More

August 16, 2013 @ 11:03 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Candace Klein has stepped down as CEO of SoMoLend. Klein was recently the subject of a notice from the Ohio Division of Securities in relation to fundraising efforts and business dealings on behalf of lending-based crowdfunding platform SoMoLend. Klein says that her decision was made because… Read More

August 15, 2013 @ 1:49 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

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

August 14, 2013 @ 9:33 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Allegations by the Ohio Division of Securities reverberate through the entrepreneurial class & the crowdfunding industry Candace Klein has been an extremely visible figure in the world of crowdfunding. Beyond her role as CEO of lending-based platform SoMoLend, she is also the former chair and… Read More

August 13, 2013 @ 7:40 am By Charles Luzar  |  

UPDATE: The city of Cincinnati is suspending its relationship with SoMoLend pending resolution to the case described below. SoMoLend previously had a partnership with the City in order to facilitate loans for local businesses. Cincinnati.com is reporting that Ohio’s Division of Securities is investigating SoMoLend for… Read More

June 14, 2013 @ 3:35 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

The team behind the crowdfunding campaign for the Kickstarted documentary may have helped catch the largest Kickstarter fraud in history just in the nick of time, and literally quite by accident. Correction: Maybe not THE largest… The team explains in a recent blog post… A… Read More

May 30, 2013 @ 8:44 am By WMUR  |  

MANCHESTER, N.H. —Self-funding, also known as crowd sourcing, is a new way to raise money or fund projects through online campaigns, but how do you know your money is going where it should be? Websites like gofundme.com are soaring in popular and millions of people… Read More

May 27, 2013 @ 8:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Over Regulation Has Challenged Public Markets, Will Crowdfunding Resurrect These Markets or Will Over Regulation Reign Supreme? Recently venture capitalist, tech entrepreneur and  industry soothsayer,  Marc Andreesen was interviewed on CNBC in an piece entitled “We are Living Through a Tech Depression“.  His talking points… Read More

May 20, 2013 @ 8:13 am By Charles Luzar  |  

A report released last month entitled Equity Crowdfunding and Venture Capital included some interesting revelations regarding what US venture capitalists and lawyers expect from equity crowdfunding. The report surveyed VCs and lawyers based in the states. Questions sought to gauge expectations about the JOBS Act’s trajectory and… Read More

April 26, 2013 @ 8:54 pm By BusinessWeeek  |  

The SEC announced a lawsuit on Thursday against a business in Spokane Valley, Wash., accused of defrauding 21 investors of about $400,000. The agency’s news release leads with charges that the company fooled investors “with claims to raise billions of investment capital under the Jumpstart… Read More

April 26, 2013 @ 7:25 am By MiBiz  |  

Crowdfunding has the potential to revolutionize how small businesses raise capital, but it generates an old worry: the possibility for fraud. But crowdfunding advocates say not to worry. The public nature of the investing model should help investors quickly identify and put a stop to… Read More

April 25, 2013 @ 3:44 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Alleged promises of huge returns plus access to boats, private jets and more…

April 24, 2013 @ 5:18 pm By CrowdCheck  |  

The New Year has come and gone and we are done with the first quarter of 2013, and yet we are still without SEC rules to implement crowdfunding as authorized by the JOBS Act.  While some commenters on the SEC JOBS Act comment section have… Read More

April 10, 2013 @ 7:00 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Monday’s conference on crowdfunding fraud and regulation in Washington, DC was an event I had been looking forward to for some time. It didn’t disappoint. Organized by Virginia-based CrowdCheck, the speaking roster of this conference was distinctly and obviously set up to put all sides… Read More

April 5, 2013 @ 11:54 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfunding due diligence platform Crowdcheck has scheduled a gathering in Washington DC to discuss the possible risks to securities Crowdfunding. The event is featuring keynote speaker US Senator Mark Warner (D – Virginia). Entitled Fraud and Red Tape: Risks to the Potential of Securities Crowdfunding… Read More

March 30, 2013 @ 9:52 am By Business Insider  |  

From the original article… In July 2012, Equiso was living the Kickstarter dream. Now it’s in a Kickstarter nightmare. It has legions of unhappy customers, alleged threats from hacking group Anonymous, and a forgotten co-founder who claims to have been unfairly ousted. It’s also being accused of selling… Read More

March 1, 2013 @ 5:41 pm By Melissa Canone  |  

With the advent of the internet and social media, a completely new way to invest in business has arisen. Crowdfunding is a method of raising capital in small amounts from a large group of people using the World Wide Web. Unlike funds from venture capitalists… Read More