U.S. top court signals it will buttress anti-fraud securities laws
Source: Reuters
WEALTH DECEMBER 3, 2018 / 12:40 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
U.S. top court signals it will buttress anti-fraud securities laws
Andrew Chung
4 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared reluctant to further limit the scope of who can be held liable for violating laws that protect investors from securities fraud as they weighed an appeal by a New York investment banker who had been banned from the industry.
Only eight of the nine justices were present to hear arguments over a ruling by a Washington-based federal appeals court that found Francis Lorenzo liable for participating in a scheme to defraud investors when he sent misleading emails about a financially-troubled clean energy company.
Most of the justices seemed to agree with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which had enforced the securities laws against Lorenzo, while Chief Justice John Roberts and fellow conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, seemed sympathetic to him.
The court has a 5-4 conservative majority. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative appointee of Republican President Donald Trump, did not participate in the case because he was part of the three-judge appeals court panel that previously reviewed the dispute. Kavanaugh joined the high court in October.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-fraud/u-s-top-court-signals-it-will-buttress-anti-fraud-securities-laws-idUSKBN1O226G