Securities fraud covers a wide range of conduct, from insider trading and market manipulation to Ponzi schemes and fraudulent investment offerings. The offense can be prosecuted federally under 15 U.S.C. §78j and Rule 10b-5, or under New York state law through the Martin Act (General Business Law Article 23-A), one of the broadest securities fraud statutes in the country, which uniquely does not require the prosecution to prove fraudulent intent. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York maintains one of the most active securities fraud units in the world, and investigations often move quickly and quietly before any public arrest.

Insider trading — trading on material, non-public information obtained through a breach of duty — is aggressively prosecuted by the SEC and the Department of Justice. The financial press often covers these cases prominently, meaning that the reputational damage can be severe long before any verdict is reached.

These cases rarely arrive alone. A securities fraud investigation typically triggers parallel proceedings simultaneously — an SEC civil action, a DOJ criminal referral, FINRA disciplinary proceedings, and civil suits from investors. Managing your Fifth Amendment rights across those forums requires careful coordination from the outset. Without unified legal representation from the start, a statement made in one proceeding can become the evidence that sinks another.

Not every aggressive investment strategy is fraudulent. Not every failed fund is a Ponzi scheme. At Nonaj Law, we scrutinize whether the conduct genuinely meets the legal standard for criminal liability or whether the government is overcriminalizing what was, in reality, a business dispute or a market loss.

If you are under investigation or have been charged in New York, contact Nonaj Law today for a confidential consultation.