Two lawyers with Am Law 200 pedigrees—including a former Sullivan & Cromwell associate in New York and the former head of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney's China practice in Philadelphia—have been ensnared in the latest troubles of Chinese stock promoter Benjamin Wey.

On Thursday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged lawyers Robert Newman and William Uchimoto, as well as Wey, with breaking civil securities laws. Wey was also criminally charged by the Department of Justice on Thursday for fraudulent corporate activity.

Wey, who is known for arranging so-called reverse mergers that allow Chinese companies to gain listings on U.S. stock exchanges, is no stranger to controversy. Earlier this year a New York jury hit Wey with an $18 million verdict for sexually harassing and defaming a young intern. He has also been sued for defamation by the intern's lawyers and, separately, by a professor at Georgetown University Law Center.