[ad_1]
Perhaps the biggest complaint from investors after the 2008 financial crisis was that not a Wall Street executive was held responsible for their misdeeds. People were angry, angry and annoyed. After all, Wall Street banks have almost led to the collapse of the global financial system.
Indeed, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and other financial institutions, which resulted in heavy losses in the retirement accounts of private investors, did not result in any lawsuit against the perpetrators of the misdemeanors that led investors to error and have harmed their own companies and shareholders. It is unfathomable.
The recent high-level agreement on securities and exchanges with Elon Musk, of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), could however indicate a more aggressive effort to hold individuals accountable.
As Business Insider points out: "The SEC sued Musk last Thursday, and the agency reached an agreement on Saturday. According to his terms, Musk does not admit or deny the allegations contained in the agency's lawsuit, but will step down as chairman of Tesla's board of directors for three years and will pay a fine of 20 millions of dollars. "
The latest drama around Musk began in August, when he said he wanted to take Tesla privately and said in a Tweet that he had "secured funding" of $ 420 per share. The stock price of the company has skyrocketed. Worse, Musk later said he had made a verbal agreement with the Saudi Wealth Fund about the deal, but no details were ever reported.
To say that this type of behavior on the part of a CEO is irresponsible would be a euphemism.
Musk has attracted the attention of federal watchdogs. As noted, the SEC sued Musk for financial fraud, saying that Musk had misled investors with this tweet. In his lawsuit, the SEC said that when Musk announced the tweet of August 7, he "knew" that he had never talked about privatization at $ 420 per share with a potential funding source .
Just as Musk's tweet backed Tesla's share price, the SEC's stock price report dropped 14%.
A recent Reuters article reported that, in addition to the settlement with Musk SEC, the SEC had recently filed lawsuits against other legal entities.
"A very prominent agreement with Tesla CEO Elon Musk is an example of the recent push by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to attack leaders, not just their companies," Reuters said.
The SEC filed a lawsuit last week against Renaud Laplanche and Carrie Dolan, former president and chief financial officer of LendingClub Asset Management (NYSE: LC), and with Gregory Wasson and Wade, former chief executive and chief financial officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance ( NASDAQ: WBA) Miquelon.
It is possible that the SEC will send a shot to the other US companies that corporate executives who mislead investors or engage in other wrongdoing will be held accountable.
Recent high-level departures at CBS (NYSE: CBS), as a result of the so-called Sexual Harassment Scandal of Les Moonves, and John Schnatter's ouster of Papa John's Pizza (NASDAQ: PZZA) for Insensitive racist remarks show that business leaders will be held responsible if they violate standards and hurt shareholders.
Despite the settlement, Musk is apparently unhappy with the SEC. Business Insider reported Thursday afternoon that Musk appeared to be targeting the SEC in a tweet, calling it the "Short Vendor Enrichment Commission".
"I just want to say that the Shortseller Enrichment Commission does an incredible job," he said. "And the name change is so much on the point!"
Some executives, it seems, may never learn. We hope, however, that these cases represent a trend that could ultimately lead to corporate responsibility. And the next shot should be on Wall Street when corporate executives mislead investors or hurt their own shareholders.
Zamansky LLC is a New York law firm that represents investors in court proceedings and arbitration against securities brokerage companies and issuers. The company may represent investors in the businesses against the companies mentioned in this blog. Zamansky LLC also represents investors in arbitration proceedings against UBS and other brokerage firms regarding Puerto Rico bonds and UBS closed bond funds and other investments. UBS Puerto Rico Fund | Solicitors for investment fraud
Disclosure: I / we have / we have no position in the actions mentioned, and do not plan to initiate position in the next 72 hours.
[ad_2]
Source link
