Tag Archives: Jonathan Marcus

State AGs Tout Role in Protecting Consumers from Crypto Currency Scams

by Divonne Smoyer, Roger Gibboni, Christine Parker, and Jonathan Marcus

One in 10 Americans invested in crypto currencies this year, so it’s no surprise that state and federal agencies are jockeying up to regulate and enforce crypto markets.

That’s because any relatively new (and poorly understood) financial product – in which a significant number of consumers are investing large amounts – is going to draw the attention of regulators and enforcement agencies.

State attorneys general (AGs) are no exception. Now some state AGs are asking how they may investigate potential consumer harms associated with crypto currencies. State AGs have established a significant national footprint in consumer protection, including and particularly over investment products.

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CFTC Issues New Enforcement Guidance on Cooperation Recognition in Its Orders

by David Meister, Jocelyn E. Strauber, Jonathan Marcus, Theodore M. Kneller, Chad E. Silverman, and Daniel B. O’Connell

On October 29, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Division of Enforcement (Division) issued a memorandum (Guidance) providing guidance for Division staff to follow when recommending the recognition of an entity’s self-reporting, cooperation or remediation in CFTC orders settling administrative enforcement proceedings.[1]

The Guidance, which appears to focus primarily on the language to be used in orders that settle enforcement actions, states that it is intended to further the CFTC’s recently stated strategic goal of providing clarity. It does not change the Division’s existing practices for evaluating self-reporting, cooperation or remediation, including for purposes of recommending penalty reductions, which were set forth in various advisories from January to September 2017 (Advisories).[2] The Guidance does not touch on, for example, the amount of credit (e.g., with respect to the amount of a penalty discount) the Division will recommend for self-reporting, cooperation or remediation. Instead, for the first time, the Division is formalizing when and how Division staff will recommend self-reporting, cooperation or remediation be “recognized” — i.e., described — in CFTC orders.

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