The regulatory climate at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has shifted dramatically. Under Chairman Paul Atkins and Enforcement Director David Woodcock, the agency has rolled out a sweeping overhaul of its Enforcement Manual and adopted a “back-to-basics” philosophy.

The message to Wall Street and corporate insiders is clear: the SEC is moving away from chasing headline-grabbing volume and is instead focusing heavily on core fraud, market integrity, and individual accountability.

Recent high-profile SEC complaints and legal decisions reveal exactly where regulators are focusing their resources:

Pre-IPO Scams and Private Fund Fraud

The SEC is aggressively targeting exploitation of the hype around private companies before they go public.

• The Subprime Auto Collapse: The SEC recently charged former executives linked to the catastrophic $1.9 billion collapse of a subprime auto lender, Tricolor, alleging widespread fraud in how the business’s financial health was marketed to backers.
• Pre-IPO Boiler Rooms: Regulators filed a major complaint against a boiler room operator and three affiliated entities for orchestrating a $74 million pre-IPO investment scam targeting everyday retail investors.
• Private Fund Valuation Fraud: The SEC charged private fund adviser Adit Ventures Management, its CEO Eric Munson, and affiliated general partners, alleging fraudulent practices regarding fund assets and disclosures.

Trusts as Regulatory Targets: The Musk Section 13(d) Precedent

If you think hiding behind a trust shield protects you from SEC disclosure rules, think again. In a historic settlement, the Elon Musk Revocable Trust agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty—the largest in SEC history for a Section 13(d) beneficial ownership violation.

The SEC’s complaint centered on an 11-day delay by Musk’s trust in publicly disclosing that it had crossed the 5% ownership threshold in Twitter stock back in 2022. During that brief window of secrecy, the trust quietly bought up an additional $500 million in shares at depressed prices. By amending its complaint to target the trust vehicle directly, the SEC signaled that personal wealth management structures are fully exposed to regulatory enforcement.

WAMCO’s $100 Million “Cherry-Picking” Settlement

Investment advisers are under intense scrutiny for conflicts of interest and breach of fiduciary duties.

The SEC finalized a massive $100 million civil penalty against Western Asset Management Company (WAMCO). The complaint alleged that the Pasadena-based firm failed to implement reasonable safeguards to detect and prevent a long-running “cherry-picking” scheme. A former co-Chief Investment Officer allegedly allocated winning trades to favored accounts while dumping losing trades onto retail clients.

The Supreme Court Hands the SEC a Disgorgement Hammer

Perhaps the biggest development for active SEC complaints isn’t a new filing, but a landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. In Sripetch v. SEC, the Court ruled unanimously that the SEC does not need to prove investors suffered an actual financial loss to demand the disgorgement of illegal profits.

Previously, defense lawyers could fight SEC complaints by arguing that their clients’ accounting maneuvers or delayed filings didn’t cause direct mathematical harm to investors. With Sripetch, if the SEC proves the money was made via an illegal rule violation, they can claw it back immediately—significantly strengthening the agency’s hand in pending district-court actions.

The Takeaway: Compliance Over Complexity

The SEC’s strategy centers on advanced forensic accounting to untangle complex corporate shells, private funds, and trust arrangements. Coupled with their newly established Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit, the Commission is heavily incentivizing companies to self-report structural issues early. Contact Conaway & Strickler if you have questions about how Sripetch affects your enforcement risk, or if you have an ongoing SEC matter. We are here to help.

An Indianapolis broker is also being charged with securities fraud and investment fraud by the SEC in relation to Drive Planning LLC, and its alleged $300 million Ponzi scheme. Gerardo “Gerry” Linarducci, a former Managing Partner of Drive Planning and head of its Indiana branch office, was charged on Dec. 19.

It is alleged that from late 2021 until in or about June 2024, Drive Planning, a Georgia based financial advisory group, marketed several investments, including the “Cash Out Real Estate Fund,” or “CORE Fund,” as “easy and simple,” advising prospective investors that the fund provided “100% Passive Income from Tax Liens.” Drive Planning guaranteed investors a return of 10% every six months or a 22% return per year for up to three years. Drive Planning further materially misrepresented that investors’ contributions to the CORE Fund were pooled together, government-protected, and fully collateralized. As part of the scheme, Bradford created a marketing brochure to promote the CORE Fund, which was shared with Drive Planning’s sales agents to solicit investors. 

In actuality, the investors’ monies were being used for other purposes, including to pay off other Drive Planning investors, make commission payments to Drive Planning’s agents, and pay for personal expenditures. Bradford and others at Drive Planning further concealed the scheme to defraud by failing to disclose that Drive Planning did not invest any funds in the CORE Fund after approximately December 9, 2022. To the contrary, even after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating Drive Planning in approximately March 2024, Bradford and others continued to solicit investments for the CORE Fund. In total, Drive Planning received at least $4.1 million from CORE Fund investors.

In August 2024, the SEC obtained a temporary restraining order against Drive Planning and filed separate civil enforcement actions against Drive Planning and others in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia related to the above-described scheme. 

We Can Help

Conaway & Strickler, PC has vast experience representing those who are facing charges from the SEC and the DOJ and we are equally adept at representing victims of investment fraud. We pursue all available legal avenues to recover your lost investments. Contact us should you need representation.