Both California law and federal law impose severe penalties on defendants convicted of securities fraud. Individuals and businesses may be charged with securities fraud, and may include business owners and executives, stock and investment promoters and middlemen, and investment banks. Typical targets include brokers-dealers (for allegedly misleading clients or advising based on inside information), financial advisors or analysts (for allegedly offering poor advice intentionally or inside information), corporations (for hiding or distorting information), and private investors (for allegedly acting on inside information).

In addition to substantial criminal penalties, heavy civil penalties may be imposed against a defendant convicted of securities law. The California Department of Corporations and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may investigate and impose civil fines against individuals and corporations accused of securities fraud.

If you are being investigated for, or have been charged with:

• Insider Trading (trading based on information that is not available to the public)
• Accounting Fraud (keeping inaccurate books or presenting false information purposefully)
• Misrepresentations (presenting misleading or untrue information about a company, or its securities, to an investor or the public)
• Omissions (failing to disclose material information so as to misrepresent information about a company, or its securities, to an investor or the public)
• Shareholder Fraud (concealing a company's debts or inflating its earnings in order to mislead investors), market manipulation (manipulating the appearance of purchase or sale demand in order to inflate or depress the price of a security),
• or other Securities Fraud

it is critical that you retain a determined and aggressive criminal defense attorney to represent you. If you are facing investigation, arrest, or criminal charges for securities fraud, please contact Anchor Criminal Defense for a free consultation.