Corporate Insiders and Issuers Fined for Reporting Violations

Six "insiders" of public companies settled charges with the SEC for failing to file reports on their securities holdings and transactions in a timely manner. Five public companies were also charged for contributing to the violations by failing to report on the delinquencies in the issuer's proxy statements and, in certain cases, by the issuer's negligence in performing filing tasks that it had agreed to take on for the benefit of the insiders.

In separate Orders, the SEC found that the companies and staff failed to comply with disclosure obligations to report their failure to file the transaction reports. Additionally, the SEC found that the companies caused many of the filing violations as a result of their negligence to perform tasks in connection with the preparation and submission of the reports on their staff's behalf. As a result, the SEC found that the companies and staff violated Exchange Act Section 16(a) ("Directors, officers, and principal stockholders") and/or Exchange Act Rule 13d-1 ("Filing of Schedules 13D and 13G").

To settle the charges, the companies and staff agreed to (i) cease and desist from further regulatory violations and (ii) pay civil money penalties ranging from (a) $66,000 to $150,000 in the case of the insiders and (b) $115,000 to $200,000 in the case of the companies.