If you're in charge of the company, you can authorize expenditures for anything that reasonably relates to the company's business, including attracting investors, retaining employees, or incenting them to succeed. It's reckless to spend all your money on parties, but not illegal.
But if you authorize the company to spend money on something which is in itself illegal (cocaine or weed for the parties, hookers instead of strippers), that's illegal. And if you effectively direct the money to your own benefit (pay for your house's landscaping, new pool, pet grooming bill) that's not legal (among other things, it counts as taxable income and I bet you forget to pay on that).
If you make invoices that say you've ordered soda for the programmers, but there are no deliveries of soda because the money for sodas went to your overseas numbered account, that's illegal.
> Defendants at all relevant times were investment advisers within the meaning of Section 202(a)(11) of the Advisers Act [15 U.S.C. ยง 80b-2(a)(11)].
My personal guess: that law makes various actions (self-dealing, lying about what investment funds are being used for, non-arms-length transactions, etc) crimes instead of civil torts.
But if you authorize the company to spend money on something which is in itself illegal (cocaine or weed for the parties, hookers instead of strippers), that's illegal. And if you effectively direct the money to your own benefit (pay for your house's landscaping, new pool, pet grooming bill) that's not legal (among other things, it counts as taxable income and I bet you forget to pay on that).