SEC to scrutinize firms' digital-engagement practices as investor worries grow

REUTERS

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will seek input on whether digital customer engagement innovations used by financial firms should be governed by existing rules or may need new ones, commission chair Gary Gensler told Reuters. read more »

SEC Charges Healthcare Services Company and CFO for Failing to Accurately Report Loss Contingencies as part of Continuing EPS Initiative

SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Pennsylvania-based Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has agreed to pay $6 million to settle charges that the company engaged in accounting and disclosure violations that enabled the company to report inflated quarterly earnings per share (EPS) that met research analysts' consensus estimates for multiple quarters. This is the third action to result from the Division of Enforcement's ongoing EPS Initiative, which uses risk-based data analytics to uncover potential accounting and disclosure violations caused by, among other things, earnings management practices. read more »

Federal Court Orders Alabama Man to Pay More Than $16 Million in Precious Metals Fraud

CFTC

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas entered a consent order against Charles McAllister of Alabama. The order requires McAllister to pay $16,186,212.56 in restitution and permanently enjoins McAllister from engaging in conduct that violates the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), from registering with the CFTC, and from trading in any CFTC-regulated markets. read more »