District Court grants SEC motion for default judgment

Courts Georgia Securities SEC Enforcement Securities Act Securities Exchange Act

On November 2, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia granted the SEC’s motion for default judgement in its suit accusing a Georgia-based investment firm and three of its officers of defrauding investors out of approximately $3 million. In July, the SEC filed a complaint against the defendants for allegedly defrauding investors through a prime bank scheme by falsely promising that their funds would remain in a purported escrow account and earn lucrative returns without any risk of loss, which violated the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. In its memorandum of law in support of its motion for default judgment, the SEC alleged that none of the defendants filed answers or responsive pleadings with the district court and had “engaged in egregious misconduct, acted with scienter, failed to admit their wrongdoing, were thoroughly dishonest with authorities, and have not demonstrated their financial means.” The district court granted the motion, approved permanent injunctions barring the defendants from committing future violations of securities laws, and required the defendants to return the investors' money with interest, in addition to the profits obtained through the alleged scheme. According to the order, the defendants are required to pay approximately $2.7 million total in disgorgement, exclusive of prejudgment interest, and pay a civil penalty of approximately $192,000.