SEC v. Nutra Pharma Corporation; Erik Deitsch; and Sean Peter McManus, No. 2:18-cv-5459, Eastern District of New York (Aug. 30, 2024) — Judgment

1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION,

Plaintiff,
 18 Civ. 5459 (JS) (ST)
v.

NUTRA PHARMA CORPORATION, ERIK
DEITSCH a/k/a RIK DEITSCH, and SEAN PETER
MCMANUS,

Defendants.

FINAL JUDGMENT AS TO DEFENDANT NUTRA PHARMA CORPORATION

The Securities and Exchange Commission having filed a Second Amended Complaint
(the “Complaint”) and Defendant Nutra Pharma Corporation (“Defendant”) having entered a
general appearance; consented to the Court’s jurisdiction over Defendant and the subject matter
of this action; consented to entry of this Final Judgment without admitting or denying the
allegations of the Complaint (except as to jurisdiction, which Defendant admits); waived
findings of fact and conclusions of law; and waived any right to appeal from this Final Judgment:
I.
 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant is
permanently restrained and enjoined from violating, directly or indirectly, Section 10(b) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) [15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)] and Rule 10b-5
promulgated thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5], by using any means or instrumentality of
interstate commerce, or of the mails, or of any facility of any national securities exchange, in
connection with the purchase or sale of any security:

2

(a) to employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud;
(b) to make any untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact
 necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances
 under which they were made, not misleading; or
(c) to engage in any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would
 operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person.
 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that, as provided in
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), the foregoing paragraph also binds the following who
receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise:  (a) Defendant’s
officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and (b) other persons in active concert or
participation with Defendant or with anyone described in (a).
II.
 IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant
is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933
(the “Securities Act”) [15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)] in the offer or sale of any security by the use of any
means or instruments of transportation or communication in interstate commerce or by use of the
mails, directly or indirectly:
(a) to employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud;
(b) to obtain money or property by means of any untrue statement of a material fact
 or any omission of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements
 made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
 or
 (c) to engage in any transaction, practice, or course of business which operates or

3

  would operate as a fraud or deceit upon the purchaser.
 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that, as provided in
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), the foregoing paragraph also binds the following who
receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise:  (a) Defendant’s
officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and (b) other persons in active concert or
participation with Defendant or with anyone described in (a).
III.
 IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant
is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Section 5 of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C.
§ 77e] by, directly or indirectly, in the absence of any applicable exemption:
(a) Unless a registration statement is in effect as to a security, making use of any
means or instruments of transportation or communication in interstate commerce
or of the mails to sell such security through the use or medium of any prospectus
or otherwise;
(b) Unless a registration statement is in effect as to a security, carrying or causing to
be carried through the mails or in interstate commerce, by any means or
instruments of transportation, any such security for the purpose of sale or for
delivery after sale; or
 (c) Making use of any means or instruments of transportation or communication in
interstate commerce or of the mails to offer to sell or offer to buy through the use
or medium of any prospectus or otherwise any security, unless a registration
statement has been filed with the Commission as to such security, or while the
registration statement is the subject of a refusal order or stop order or (prior to the
-

4

effective date of the registration statement) any public proceeding or examination
under Section 8 of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77h].
 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that, as provided in
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), the foregoing paragraph also binds the following who
receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise:  (a) Defendant’s
officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and (b) other persons in active concert or
participation with Defendant or with anyone described in (a).
IV.
 IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant
is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act [15
U.S.C. § 78m(a)] and Rules 13a-11 and 13a-13 thereunder [17 C.F.R. §§ 240.13a-11 and
240.13a-13], by failing to file with the Commission any report required to be filed with the
Commission pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder or by filing any such report that is inaccurate.
 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that, as provided in
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), the foregoing paragraph also binds the following who
receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise:  (a) Defendant’s
officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and (b) other persons in active concert or
participation with Defendant or with anyone described in (a).
V.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant is liable
for disgorgement of $520,940, representing net profits gained as a result of the conduct alleged
in the Second Amended Complaint, together with prejudgment interest thereon in the amount of
■

5

$59,295.05, and a civil money penalty in the amount of $100,000 pursuant to Section 20(d) of
the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77t(d)] and Section 21(d)(3) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. §
78u(d)(3)]. Defendant shall satisfy these obligations by paying $680,235.05 to the Securities and
Exchange Commission within 30 days after entry of this Final Judgment.
Defendant may transmit payment electronically to the Commission, which will provide
detailed ACH transfer/Fedwire instructions upon request. Payment may also be made directly
from a bank account via Pay.gov through the SEC website at
http://www.sec.gov/about/offices/ofm.htm. Defendant may also pay by certified check, bank
cashier’s check, or United States postal money order payable to the Securities and Exchange
Commission, which shall be delivered or mailed to
Enterprise Services Center
Accounts Receivable Branch
6500 South MacArthur Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73169

and shall be accompanied by a letter identifying the case title, civil action number, and name of
this Court; Nutra Pharma Corporation as a defendant in this action; and specifying that payment
is made pursuant to this Final Judgment.
 Defendant shall simultaneously transmit photocopies of evidence of payment and case
identifying information to the Commission’s counsel in this action. By making this payment,
Defendant relinquishes all legal and equitable right, title, and interest in such funds and no part
of the funds shall be returned to Defendant.
 The Commission may enforce the Court’s judgment for disgorgement and prejudgment
interest by using all collection procedures authorized by law, including, but not limited to,
moving for civil contempt at any time after 30 days following entry of this Final Judgment.

6

 The Commission may enforce the Court’s judgment for penalties by the use of all
collection procedures authorized by law, including the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act,
28 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq., and moving for civil contempt for violation of any Court orders issued
in this action. Defendant shall pay post judgment interest on any amounts due after 30 days of
the entry of this Final Judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1961. The Commission shall hold the
funds, together with any interest and income earned thereon (collectively, the “Fund”), pending
further order of the Court.
 The Commission may propose a plan to distribute the Fund subject to the Court’s
approval. Such a plan may provide that the Fund shall be distributed pursuant to the Fair Fund
provisions of Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Court shall retain
jurisdiction over the administration of the Fund and the Fund may only be disbursed pursuant to
an Order of the Court.
 Regardless of whether any such Fair Fund distribution is made, amounts ordered to be
paid as civil penalties pursuant to this Final Judgment shall be treated as penalties paid to the
government for all purposes, including all tax purposes. To preserve the deterrent effect of the
civil penalty, Defendant shall not, after offset or reduction of any award of compensatory
damages in any Related Investor Action based on Defendant’s payment of disgorgement in this
action, argue that it is entitled to, nor shall it further benefit by, offset or reduction of such
compensatory damages award by the amount of any part of Defendant’s payment of a civil
penalty in this action (“Penalty Offset”). If the court in any Related Investor Action grants such a
Penalty Offset, Defendant shall, within 30 days after entry of a final order granting the Penalty
Offset, notify the Commission’s counsel in this action and pay the amount of the Penalty Offset
to the United States Treasury or to a Fair Fund, as the Commission directs. Such a payment shall

not be deemed an additional civil penalty and shall not be deemed to change the amount of the
civil penalty imposed in this Final Judgment. For pmposes of this paragraph, a " Related Investor
Action" means a private damages action brought against Defendant by or on behalf of one or
more investors based on substantially the same facts as alleged in the Complaint in this action .
VI.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the Consent is
inc01p orated herein with the same force and effect as if fully set forth herein, and that Defendant
shall comply with all of the unde1t akings and agreements set fo1t h therein.
VII.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that this Comt shall retain
jmisdiction of this matter for the pmposes of enforcing the te1ms of this Final Judgment.
Dated: August 28
2024
Central Islip, New York
/s/ JOANNA SEYBERT
HON. JOANNA SEYBERT
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
7

1 
 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 

 

  

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION,  

  

Plaintiff,  

 18 Civ. 5459 (JS) (ST) 

v.  

  

NUTRA PHARMA CORPORATION, ERIK 

DEITSCH a/k/a RIK DEITSCH, and SEAN PETER 

MCMANUS, 

 

  

Defendants.  

  

 

FINAL JUDGMENT AS TO DEFENDANT NUTRA PHARMA CORPORATION 

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission having filed a Second Amended Complaint 

(the “Complaint”) and Defendant Nutra Pharma Corporation (“Defendant”) having entered a 

general appearance; consented to the Court’s jurisdiction over Defendant and the subject matter 

of this action; consented to entry of this Final Judgment without admitting or denying the 

allegations of the Complaint (except as to jurisdiction, which Defendant admits); waived 

findings of fact and conclusions of law; and waived any right to appeal from this Final Judgment: 

I. 

 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant is 

permanently restrained and enjoined from violating, directly or indirectly, Section 10(b) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) [15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)] and Rule 10b-5 

promulgated thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5], by using any means or instrumentality of 

interstate commerce, or of the mails, or of any facility of any national securities exchange, in 

connection with the purchase or sale of any security: 

Case 2:18-cv-05459-JS-ST   Document 128   Filed 08/28/24   Page 1 of 7 PageID #: 3119



2 
 

(a) to employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud; 

(b) to make any untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact 

 necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances 

 under which they were made, not misleading; or 

(c) to engage in any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would 

 operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person. 

 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that, as provided in 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), the foregoing paragraph also binds the following who 

receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise:  (a) Defendant’s 

officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and (b) other persons in active concert or 

participation with Defendant or with anyone described in (a). 

II. 

 IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant 

is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 

(the “Securities Act”) [15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)] in the offer or sale of any security by the use of any 

means or instruments of transportation or communication in interstate commerce or by use of the 

mails, directly or indirectly: 

(a) to employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud; 

(b) to obtain money or property by means of any untrue statement of a material fact 

 or any omission of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements 

 made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; 

 or 

 (c) to engage in any transaction, practice, or course of business which operates or  

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3 
 

  would operate as a fraud or deceit upon the purchaser. 

 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that, as provided in 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), the foregoing paragraph also binds the following who 

receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise:  (a) Defendant’s 

officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and (b) other persons in active concert or 

participation with Defendant or with anyone described in (a). 

III. 

 IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant 

is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Section 5 of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. 

§ 77e] by, directly or indirectly, in the absence of any applicable exemption: 

(a) Unless a registration statement is in effect as to a security, making use of any 

means or instruments of transportation or communication in interstate commerce 

or of the mails to sell such security through the use or medium of any prospectus 

or otherwise;  

(b) Unless a registration statement is in effect as to a security, carrying or causing to 

be carried through the mails or in interstate commerce, by any means or 

instruments of transportation, any such security for the purpose of sale or for 

delivery after sale; or 

 (c) Making use of any means or instruments of transportation or communication in 

interstate commerce or of the mails to offer to sell or offer to buy through the use 

or medium of any prospectus or otherwise any security, unless a registration 

statement has been filed with the Commission as to such security, or while the 

registration statement is the subject of a refusal order or stop order or (prior to the 

-

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4 
 

effective date of the registration statement) any public proceeding or examination 

under Section 8 of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77h]. 

 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that, as provided in 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), the foregoing paragraph also binds the following who 

receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise:  (a) Defendant’s 

officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and (b) other persons in active concert or 

participation with Defendant or with anyone described in (a). 

IV. 

 IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant 

is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act [15 

U.S.C. § 78m(a)] and Rules 13a-11 and 13a-13 thereunder [17 C.F.R. §§ 240.13a-11 and 

240.13a-13], by failing to file with the Commission any report required to be filed with the 

Commission pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations 

promulgated thereunder or by filing any such report that is inaccurate. 

 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that, as provided in 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), the foregoing paragraph also binds the following who 

receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise:  (a) Defendant’s 

officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and (b) other persons in active concert or 

participation with Defendant or with anyone described in (a). 

V. 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant is liable 

for disgorgement of $520,940, representing net profits gained as a result of the conduct alleged 

in the Second Amended Complaint, together with prejudgment interest thereon in the amount of 

■ 

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5 
 

$59,295.05, and a civil money penalty in the amount of $100,000 pursuant to Section 20(d) of 

the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77t(d)] and Section 21(d)(3) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 

78u(d)(3)]. Defendant shall satisfy these obligations by paying $680,235.05 to the Securities and 

Exchange Commission within 30 days after entry of this Final Judgment. 

Defendant may transmit payment electronically to the Commission, which will provide 

detailed ACH transfer/Fedwire instructions upon request. Payment may also be made directly 

from a bank account via Pay.gov through the SEC website at 

http://www.sec.gov/about/offices/ofm.htm. Defendant may also pay by certified check, bank 

cashier’s check, or United States postal money order payable to the Securities and Exchange 

Commission, which shall be delivered or mailed to 

Enterprise Services Center 

Accounts Receivable Branch 

6500 South MacArthur Boulevard 

Oklahoma City, OK 73169 

 

and shall be accompanied by a letter identifying the case title, civil action number, and name of 

this Court; Nutra Pharma Corporation as a defendant in this action; and specifying that payment 

is made pursuant to this Final Judgment. 

 Defendant shall simultaneously transmit photocopies of evidence of payment and case 

identifying information to the Commission’s counsel in this action. By making this payment, 

Defendant relinquishes all legal and equitable right, title, and interest in such funds and no part 

of the funds shall be returned to Defendant. 

 The Commission may enforce the Court’s judgment for disgorgement and prejudgment 

interest by using all collection procedures authorized by law, including, but not limited to, 

moving for civil contempt at any time after 30 days following entry of this Final Judgment. 

Case 2:18-cv-05459-JS-ST   Document 128   Filed 08/28/24   Page 5 of 7 PageID #: 3123



6 
 

 The Commission may enforce the Court’s judgment for penalties by the use of all 

collection procedures authorized by law, including the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act, 

28 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq., and moving for civil contempt for violation of any Court orders issued 

in this action. Defendant shall pay post judgment interest on any amounts due after 30 days of 

the entry of this Final Judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1961. The Commission shall hold the 

funds, together with any interest and income earned thereon (collectively, the “Fund”), pending 

further order of the Court. 

 The Commission may propose a plan to distribute the Fund subject to the Court’s 

approval. Such a plan may provide that the Fund shall be distributed pursuant to the Fair Fund 

provisions of Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Court shall retain 

jurisdiction over the administration of the Fund and the Fund may only be disbursed pursuant to 

an Order of the Court. 

 Regardless of whether any such Fair Fund distribution is made, amounts ordered to be 

paid as civil penalties pursuant to this Final Judgment shall be treated as penalties paid to the 

government for all purposes, including all tax purposes. To preserve the deterrent effect of the 

civil penalty, Defendant shall not, after offset or reduction of any award of compensatory 

damages in any Related Investor Action based on Defendant’s payment of disgorgement in this 

action, argue that it is entitled to, nor shall it further benefit by, offset or reduction of such 

compensatory damages award by the amount of any part of Defendant’s payment of a civil 

penalty in this action (“Penalty Offset”). If the court in any Related Investor Action grants such a 

Penalty Offset, Defendant shall, within 30 days after entry of a final order granting the Penalty 

Offset, notify the Commission’s counsel in this action and pay the amount of the Penalty Offset 

to the United States Treasury or to a Fair Fund, as the Commission directs. Such a payment shall 

Case 2:18-cv-05459-JS-ST   Document 128   Filed 08/28/24   Page 6 of 7 PageID #: 3124



not be deemed an additional civil penalty and shall not be deemed to change the amount of the 

civil penalty imposed in this Final Judgment. For pmposes of this paragraph, a "Related Investor 

Action" means a private damages action brought against Defendant by or on behalf of one or 

more investors based on substantially the same facts as alleged in the Complaint in this action. 

VI. 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the Consent is 

inc01p orated herein with the same force and effect as if fully set forth herein, and that Defendant 

shall comply with all of the unde1t akings and agreements set fo1t h therein. 

VII. 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that this Comt shall retain 

jmisdiction of this matter for the pmposes of enforcing the te1ms of this Final Judgment. 

Dated: Augus t 28 2024 

Central Islip, New York /s/ JOANNA SEYBERT 

HON. JOANNA SEYBERT 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

7 

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