Howard Lutnick

This is a civil settlement against Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., the financial firm Howard Lutnick chaired and led as CEO (is_business_entity=true). The SEC found that Cantor caused two of its sponsored blank-check companies (SPACs) to falsely deny, in regulatory filings before their IPOs, having had contact or substantive discussions with potential merger targets. The two SPACs raised $750 million from investors before merging with View Inc. and Satellogic. Cantor settled for a $6.75 million penalty without admitting or denying the findings; Lutnick was not personally a defendant.

This is a civil regulatory settlement against Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., the firm Howard Lutnick chaired and led as CEO (is_business_entity=true). On September 27, 2022, the SEC charged 15 broker-dealers and one affiliated investment adviser, including Cantor Fitzgerald, with widespread and longstanding failures to maintain and preserve electronic communications, with employees using personal devices/off-channel messaging for business. Cantor Fitzgerald agreed to a $10 million penalty. Lutnick was not personally charged.

This is a civil regulatory settlement against Cantor Fitzgerald, the firm Howard Lutnick chaired and led as CEO (is_business_entity=true). The SEC found that for nearly five years Cantor Fitzgerald made numerous deficient 'blue sheet' submissions containing missing or inaccurate data for approximately 35 million transactions, due to inadequate validation processes and undetected coding errors. Cantor admitted the findings, was censured, and paid a $3.2 million penalty. Lutnick was not personally charged.

CG Technology LP (formerly Cantor Gaming), Lutnick's Las Vegas sports betting affiliate, admitted to aiding and abetting an illegal gambling business and money laundering from approximately 2009 to 2013 by facilitating messenger betting through a scheme linked to illegal offshore bookmaking (the 'Jersey Boys' operation). FinCEN separately found 'egregious and systemic' BSA/AML violations including failure to file suspicious activity reports. The company entered a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ, paid $16.5 million in penalties/forfeiture, and paid FinCEN $12 million (partially offset by the criminal payments). The company's former Director of Risk Management Michael Colbert pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2013. Lutnick, though the principal owner and described as personally involved in operations, was not personally charged.

FINRA found that Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. sold billions of shares of unregistered microcap securities for client accounts between March 2011 and September 2012 without adequate due diligence, and that the firm had inadequate supervisory procedures and anti-money laundering programs. FINRA sanctioned the firm $7.3 million total, including a $6 million fine and disgorgement of approximately $1.3 million in commissions.

FINRA found that Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. violated Regulation SHO short-sale rules for at least five years (2013–2017): the firm failed to timely close out at least 4,879 fail-to-deliver positions, routed short orders without first borrowing or arranging to borrow securities, and failed to supervise short-sale activity despite repeated compliance warnings. FINRA noted the same issues had been previously identified in 2011 and 2012.

Newmark Group shareholders filed a derivative lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court alleging that the $50 million bonus awarded to Lutnick (tied to Newmark's acquisition of a Nasdaq trading platform stake in 2017) was a breach of fiduciary duty that did not benefit the company. Lutnick settled days before his Senate Commerce Secretary confirmation hearing. He kept the bonus, Newmark was made whole by insurance, and all defendants denied liability.

The SEC found that Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. repeatedly failed to identify and report more than 100 customers who qualified as 'large traders' under SEC Rule 13h-1 from August 2019 through May 2023. Large traders are participants with transactions exceeding $20 million per day or $200 million per month. Cantor paid $1.4 million to resolve the charges.

Investors sued Howard Lutnick personally and Cantor Fitzgerald in connection with the SPAC merger with View Inc. (smart windows), alleging defendants made false and misleading statements in financial disclosures and proxy materials, including understating window warranty accruals. Lutnick and Cantor agreed to pay approximately $12 million (some filings report $11 million from this tranche) to resolve the class action. Court approved the settlement.