Scam artists beware. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has put together a new unit to tackle securities fraud on the internet. Since 1995, the SEC has brought more that 30 cases against perpetrators of internet-related securities fraud. Those cases involve virtually every type of scam known, from fake offerings and market manipulations to pyramid and ponzi schemes (CI No 3,459). An SEC Enforcement Complaint Center now receives 120 complaints of internet-related securities violations every day. Don’t let that stop you complaining, though: SEC officials say these often provide good leads for new or existing investigations. Chief of the new Office of Internet Enforcement is John Reed Stark, who has been serving as Special Counsel for Internet Projects in the SEC Enforcement Division. He is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center where he teaches Securities Law and the Internet. Stark will report directly to Joan McKown, Chief Counsel of the Enforcement Division. The Office of Internet Enforcement will operate out of the SEC’s headquarters in Washington DC.
