SEC declares digital assets can be "securities" under U.S. law

Wall Street's main regulator said on Tuesday that initial coin offerings (ICOs), a means of crowdfunding for blockchain technology companies, should be subject to the same safeguards required in traditional securities sales.

ICOs have become a bonanza for digital currency entrepreneurs by allowing them to raise millions quickly by creating and selling digital "tokens" with no regulatory oversight.

But the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declared that the tokens can be considered securities, and therefore, may be need to be registered unless a valid exemption applies. read more »

Celgene to Pay $280 Million to Settle Fraud Suit Over Cancer Drugs

The pharmaceutical company Celgene has agreed to pay $280 million to settle claims that it marketed the cancer drugs Thalomid and Revlimid for unapproved uses, the company said on Tuesday.

Under the terms of the settlement, which resulted from a lawsuit filed by a whistle-blower — a former sales representative at Celgene — the company will pay $259.3 million to the United States and $20.7 million to 28 states and the District of Columbia.

The Celgene settlement is the latest in a string of multimillion-dollar fines that pharmaceutical companies have paid to settle charges that they inappropriately marketed certain drugs in recent years, but this case is one of the largest settlements to involve a cancer drug, said Reuben A. Guttman, who represented the whistle-blower, Beverly Brown. read more »

SEC Announces $2.5 Million Whistleblower Award

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of nearly $2.5 million to an employee of a domestic government agency whose whistleblower tip helped launch an SEC investigation and whose continued assistance enabled the SEC to address a company's misconduct.

''Whistleblowers can provide a wealth of information and ongoing assistance that helps our agency bring enforcement actions quicker and more efficiently,'' said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC's Office of the Whistleblower.  ''This whistleblower not only helped us open the case, but also provided timely ongoing assistance along with critical documents and testimony that accelerated the pace of our enforcement action.''

Approximately $156 million has now been awarded to 45 whistleblowers who voluntarily provided the SEC with original and useful information that led to a successful enforcement action.  No money has been taken or withheld from harmed investors to pay whistleblower awards.

By law, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and does not disclose information that might directly or indirectly reveal a whistleblower's identity.  Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action.  Whistleblower awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.  All payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators. read more »

Pharmacist Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud Charges for Role in $192 Million Compounded Medication Scheme; Pharmacy Marketer Also Pleads Guilty

The Pharmacist in Charge of a Hattiesburg, Mississippi compounding pharmacy pleaded guilty today to health care fraud charges for his role in a scheme that defrauded TRICARE and private insurance companies out of at least $192 million in payments for medically unnecessary compounded medications. read more »