Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - January 2nd, 2015

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Announces Charges Against N.Y.-Based Firm and Three Executives Accused of Siphoning Investor Money
December 29, 2014 (Litigation Release No. 294)
The SEC has charged VERO Capital Management, its president, general counsel, and CFO with channeling investors' money into a side venture. Robert Geiger, George Barbaresi and Steven Downey managed a pair of funds invested primarily in mortgage-backed securities at VERO Capital Management. The SEC alleges that, while in the process of discontinuing the funds, the three fund managers diverted $4.4 million through undocumented loans to a side company of theirs, under the guise of a bridge loan to an affiliated company in the risk management business. This is alleged to never have been disclosed to investors of either fund. They have also been accused of other malpractices. A public hearing is being scheduled.

SEC Announces Program to Facilitate Analysis of Corporate Financial Data
December 30, 2014 (Litigation Release No. 295)
The SEC has announced the launch of a pilot program that will be used to facilitate the analysis of corporate financial data. Initially, organized structured data sets will be filed in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) as exhibits to company filings, which will be expanded in 2015 to formats other than XBRL. The data sets will contain all relevant structured data, and this data will be posted on the SEC's website which can then be downloaded for investor and academic purposes.