Franklin, Andrews, Kramer & Edelstein

[scion]

For more than three decades, the SEC has accepted online submissions of regulatory filings -- basically, no questions asked. As many as 800,000 forms are filed each year, or about 3,000 per weekday. But, in a little known vulnerability at the heart of American capitalism, the government doesn’t vet them, and rarely even takes down those known to be shams.

“The SEC can’t stop them,” said Lawrence West, a former SEC associate enforcement director. “They can only punish the filer afterward and remove the filing from the system. So, caveat lector -- let the reader beware.”

A Fake $3.6 Trillion Deal Is Easy to Sneak Past the SEC
by Anders Melin
March 22, 2017, 5:00 AM CDT March 22, 2017, 9:37 AM CDT

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-22/a-3-6-trillion-m-a-deal-really-just-disregard-that-sec-filing