The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday charged Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., a global financial services firm headed by one of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees, with violating federal securities laws.
The SEC charged the finance firm for allegedly causing two special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that it controlled to “make misleading statements to investors ahead of their initial public offerings (IPOs),” according to a Thursday press release. Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying a $6.75 million civil penalty.
Trump on Nov. 19 selected Howard Lutnick, Cantor Fitzgerald’s CEO, to head the Department of Commerce. Lutnick is also co-chair for the Trump transition team, where he “created the most sophisticated process and system to assist us in creating the greatest Administration America has ever seen,”…