Under Armour faces federal investigation over its accounting practices

Under Armour is the subject of federal investigations by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission over its accounting practices, the company confirmed Sunday.

Under Armour began responding in July 2017 to requests for documents and information related to its accounting practices and related disclosures. Under Armour is cooperating with both investigations and believes its accounting practices and disclosures were appropriate, a company spokesperson said.

The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation and is coordinating with civil investigators at the SEC. read more »

Justices to consider key SEC tool in securities fraud

The Supreme Court will consider taking away an important tool that federal securities regulators used last year to recoup $2.5 billion in ill-gotten gains in fraud cases.

The justices said Friday they will hear an appeal contending that the Securities and Exchange Commission lacks the power to seek repayment, or disgorgement, of profits from people who have been found to violate securities law. read more »

SEC Charges International Security-Based Swaps Dealer That Targeted U.S. Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged XBT Corp. SARL d/b/a First Global Credit, a Switzerland-based securities dealer, for offering and selling unregistered security-based swaps to U.S. investors using bitcoins and for failing to transact its swaps on a registered national exchange.

According to the SEC's order, First Global Credit used a variety of marketing methods to target and solicit U.S. individuals to deposit and use bitcoins to buy and sell a variety of investment products. Although First Global Credit used different terminology to describe the investments it offered, including "bitcoin Asset Linked Notes," investors were able to participate in the price movements of securities, including those listed on U.S. securities exchanges, without owning them. These types of instruments are considered security-based swaps under the U.S. federal securities laws. First Global Credit offered these swaps to U.S. investors without complying with the registration and exchange requirements governing security-based swaps, which were enacted as part of the Dodd-Frank Act. read more »

Uber allegedly paid $100,000 ransom and had hackers sign NDAs after massive data breach

New details about how Uber responded to a massive hack attack in 2016 raise questions about the way it handled sensitive customer information. Instead of reporting the hackers to police, the company allegedly paid $100,000 in exchange for a promise to delete 57 million user files the men stole off a third party server, prosecutors said.

Within weeks of paying the ransom, Uber employees showed up at Brandon Glover's Winter Park, Florida, home and found Vasile Mereacre at a hotel restaurant in Toronto, Canada, the Justice Department said. The pair admitted their crimes, but Uber didn't turn them over to the cops. Instead, they had the hackers sign non-disclosure agreements, promising to keep quiet. The two hackers pleaded guilty on Wednesday. read more »