The SEC filed charges on Tuesday against Virtu Financial Inc
Federal charges have been filed against a financial service company that was co-founded by two co-owners of the Florida Panthers.
The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Tuesday it had filed charges against Virtu Americas LLC and its parent company, Virtu Financial Inc.
Panthers Chairman, Owner and Governor Vincent Viola and Panthers Vice Chairman, Partner and Alternate Governor Doug Cifu co-founded Virtu Financial in 2008.
Viola is currently the Chairman Emeritus of Virtu Financial while Cifu remains the company's Chief Executive Officer, according to the Panthers official website.
Per the SEC:
"The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against broker-dealer Virtu Americas LLC and its parent company, Virtu Financial Inc. (collectively, Virtu), for making materially false and misleading statements and omissions regarding information barriers to prevent the misuse of sensitive customer information."
The full SEC release can be found at: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-176
Virtu responded to the filing with an update on what it calls the "ongoing SEC matter" and points out that the SEC lawsuit "does not allege actual inappropriate access or use."
The SEC alleges that due a failure to safeguard an internal Virtu database, there could have been a misuse of sensitive, nonpublic customer information.
Virtu's full update can be found at: https://ir.virtu.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2023/Virtu-Financial-Provides-an-Update-on-Ongoing-SEC-Matter/default.aspx
Viola and Cifu purchased the Panthers in 2013 and have since overseen the turnaround of the franchise. Florida has made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons and reached the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.
Players, coaches and management have spoken positively over the past decade about the support received from ownership.