On August 31, 2022, Plaintiff Melanie E. Damian, in her capacity as the Court-Appointed Receiver for Today’s Growth Consultant, Inc. d/b/a The Income Store (“TGC”) (the “Receiver”) filed a complaint against Defendant Core Financial Outsourcing of Chicago (“Core Financial”) in the Northern District of Illinois (“Damian II”) seeking damages, injunctive relief, interest, and attorneys’ fees and costs. The complaint alleges five claims for professional negligence, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, and two violations of the Illinois Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act.

This action stems from a prior enforcement action seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against TGC and its founder, Kenneth D. Courtright, III (“Courtright”), based upon TGC and Courtright’s alleged violation of federal securities laws and operation of a website services Ponzi scheme.

We previously wrote about PLB Investments LLC et al v. Heartland Bank and Trust Co. et al., a related case initiated by various defrauded investors of TGC against two bank defendants that

On September 7, 2022, Jimmy Kirby, the Acting Deputy Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), gave remarks during the 2022 Federal Identity Forum & Exposition (“FedID”) on the importance of securing digital identity.

In his opening comments, Kirby emphasized digital identity as “fundamental to the effectiveness of every financial institution’s AML/CFT program.”

Guo, et al. v. Robl, et al. was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on August 8, 2022.  Plaintiffs assert claims of fraudulent inducement, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, civil racketeering under RICO, violations of the California Penal and Corporations Codes, violations of state securities laws, and breach of contract.  Plaintiffs request compensatory damages and equitable relief against defendant media production companies and related individuals and entities that allegedly induced investors into financing film projects that ultimately failed, leaving Plaintiffs with substantial losses.

Plaintiff Gosdom, Inc. (“Gosdom”) is a California corporation, and Plaintiff Vanessa Guo (“Guo”) is its Chief Executive Officer (collectively “Plaintiffs”). Defendants Kevin Robl (“Robl”) and Chris Bremble (“Bremble”) are principals and managers of Defendants Production Capital, LLC (“Production Capital”) and/or Chinese-based production company Base Media Technology Group Limited (“Base Media”), and Defendant Remington Chase (“Chase”) is the principal of Defendants Production House International, LLC (“Production House”) (collectively, “Enterprise Financing Defendants”). The remaining Defendants consist of American and Chinese filmmakers and media companies, California attorneys, and various entities based in California, Delaware, and Wyoming—all of which benefited from or were aware of the loan and investments used to finance the film projects.

The Enterprise Defendants are alleged to have engaged in a scheme to defraud

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Giri, et al., was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on August 11, 2022, claiming violations of several provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission Regulations. Specifically, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) seeks permanent injunctive relief against all Defendants, disgorgement, rescission, and civil penalties.

The CFTC brought this action against Rathnakishore Giri (“Giri”), SR Private Equity, LLC (“SR Private Equity”), NBD Eidetic Capital, LLC (“NBD Eidetic”), Giri Subramani (“Subramani”), and Loka Pavani Giri (“Pavani Giri”) (collectively, “Defendants”) who are alleged to have engaged in a fraudulent scheme to trade digital assets—mainly bitcoin—on behalf of investors. Defendant Giri is a controlling person of both Defendants NBD Eidetic, an Ohio limited liability company, and SR Private Equity, an Ohio limited liability company. Defendants Subramani and Pavani Giri are the parents of Defendant Giri.

The complaint alleges that starting in or around March 2019, Defendant Giri solicited

Huron Capital has announced it has sold a majority interest in Pueblo Mechanical & Controls.

Pueblo, based in Phoenix, Ariz., is a provider of HVAC and plumbing installation, maintenance, retrofit and repair services to customers in healthcare and other markets. Founded in 2001, the company largely serves the Southwest and Rocky Mountain regions.

Huron, based…

Revelstoke Capital Partners has announced it has acquired Monte Nido & Affiliates.

Monte Nido, based in Miami, is an eating disorder treatment provider delivering care in inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient settings. Founded in 1996, the provider has five brands and more than 45 facilities across 15 states.

Revelstoke, based in…

California state of United States flag textile cloth fabric waving on the top sunrise mist fog

On Wednesday, August 24, 2022, the California Attorney General released a public statement addressing its first enforcement action under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) against Sephora. The Attorney General alleged that Sephora failed to disclose to consumers that it was selling personal information, it failed to honor requests submitted through Global Privacy Controls (“GPC”), and it failed to cure these violations within the 30-day period. The parties settled for a $1.2M fine and injunctive relief requiring Sephora to comply with the CCPA and accept GPC.