Securities Fraud

SECURITIES FRAUD refers to the criminal conduct of persons involved in the purchase and/or sales of stock shares in both publicly and privately held companies, as well as other financial instruments, including bonds and commodities. The word security refers to a monetary interest in a company, such as: an investment contract, voting trust certificate, options to purchases stock in a company, interest in oil, gas, water, or mineral rights; as well as stocks and bonds. Federal securities laws, primarily the Securities Act of 1933 and[Page 726] the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, regulate the conduct of both brokers and stock exchanges. Shares of publicly held companies are normally purchased and sold on one of several exchanges, including: the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ which ...