Ex-Big Law Partner Found Guilty in Cryptocurrency Fraud Trial

Mark Scott, a former equity partner at the law firm Locke Lord LLP, was convicted on Thursday of conspiracy to commit money laundering and bank fraud, reports FinanceFeeds.

He was one of the defendants in a lawsuit targeting individuals involved in the fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme OneCoin. Scott was suspected of laundering approximately $400 million in proceeds of OneCoin through fraudulent investment funds that he set up and operated for that purpose, writes FinanceFeeds’ Maria Nikolova.

Scott could face up to 20 years in prison on the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering and up to 30 years for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Read the FinanceFeeds article.

 

 




Bank Regulators Revive Restrictions on Incentive-Based Compensation

RegulationFinancial regulators have proposed new rules limiting the incentive pay of employees and other service providers at financial institutions, report Mark Jones and Robert L. Tian of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

“The new rules seek to establish general requirements applicable to the incentive-based compensation arrangements of covered persons working in covered institutions. Covered persons are any executive officers, employees, directors or principal shareholders who receive incentive-based compensation at a covered institution. Additional restrictions apply to senior executive officers and significant risk-takers,” they write.

Their article discusses the prohibition of excessive compensation, appropriate performance measures, effective controls, approval by the board of directors, and disclosure and record-keeping.

Read the article.

 

 




The Department of Labor Issues Final Fiduciary Rules

Banking - investing - money - advisorsOn April 6, 2016, after more than five years of anticipation, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued the final fiduciary rule and related guidance. The final fiduciary rule amends and expands the definition of a fiduciary that provides “investment advice” to reflect changes in the financial industry and the state of investment advice as it exists today, reports Sherman & Howard LLC.

“The final rule focuses on ‘conflicts of interest,’ and serves to sweep in a large number of investment advisers who were not previously treated as fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). To temper the scope and impact of the final rule, the DOL also issued two new prohibited transaction exemptions (along with certain amendments to existing exemptions),” the report says.

in the article, the firm offers guidance intended to address concerns of these investment advisers with respect to certain prohibited transactions under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code, while still protecting retirement plans and participants.

Read the article.