SEC v. Chicago Crypto Capital LLC; and Brian B. Amoah, No. 1:22-cv-04975, Northern District of Illinois (May 18, 2023) — Judgment
raw: SEC v. Judge John Robert Blakey
SEC v. Judge John Robert Blakey, No. 1:22-cv-04975 (May 18, 2023)
The SEC obtained a final default judgment against Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme involving unregistered crypto asset securities.
The court ordered the defendants to jointly and severally disgorge $935,599.65 plus $136,087.10 in prejudgment interest. Chicago Crypto Capital LLC was assessed a $1,339,368 civil penalty, while Brian B. Amoah faced a $245,553 penalty. The defendants are permanently enjoined from violating the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission successfully obtained a final default judgment against Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah for securities fraud. The defendants were found liable for engaging in deceptive practices, making material misstatements, and the unregistered offer and sale of crypto asset securities. As a result, the court ordered the defendants to jointly and severally disgorge $935,599.65 in net profits plus $136,087.10 in prejudgment interest. Additionally, the judgment imposes a $1,339,368 civil penalty on Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and a $245,553 penalty on Brian B. Amoah. The defendants are permanently enjoined from violating various provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including prohibitions against fraudulent schemes and unregistered securities offerings. The court's order also binds the defendants' officers, agents, and employees to these permanent injunctions.
Extracted insights
- $1.34M $1,339,368 $1M–$10M
- $936K $935,599 $100K–$1M
- $246K $245,553 $100K–$1M
- $136K $136,087 $100K–$1M
- person brian b. amoah
- company chicago crypto capital llc
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- court united states district court
- United States District Court grants Securities And Exchange Commission's Motion For Default Judgment
- United States District Court enters Final Judgment Against Chicago Crypto Capital Llc And Brian B. Amoah
- Chicago Crypto Capital Llc is permanently restrained from Violating Section 10(b) Of The Securities Exchange Act Of 1934
- Brian B. Amoah is permanently restrained from Violating Section 10(b) Of The Securities Exchange Act Of 1934
- Chicago Crypto Capital Llc is permanently restrained from Violating Section 17(a) Of The Securities Act Of 1933
- Brian B. Amoah is permanently restrained from Violating Section 17(a) Of The Securities Act Of 1933
- Chicago Crypto Capital Llc is permanently restrained from Violating Section 5 Of The Securities Act
- Brian B. Amoah is permanently restrained from Violating Section 5 Of The Securities Act
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 22-cv-4975
v.
Judge John Robert Blakey
CHICAGO CRYPTO CAPITAL, LLC, et al.,
Defendants.
FINAL DEFAULT JUDGMENT AS TO DEFENDANTS
CHICAGO CRYPTO CAPITAL LLC AND BRIAN B. AMOAH
Having considered the evidence in this matter, the Court grants the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Motion for Default Judgment Against
All Remaining Defendants. The Court hereby enters final judgment against
Defendants Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah as follows:
I.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendants
Chicago Crypto Capital and Brian B. Amoah are 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) Defendants’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and
(b) other persons in active concert or participation with Defendants or with anyone
described in (a).
II.
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that
Defendants Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah are 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
3
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 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) Defendants’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and
(b) other persons in active concert or participation with Defendants or with anyone
described in (a).
III.
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that
Defendants Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah are 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
4
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 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) Defendants’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and
(b) other persons in active concert or participation with Defendants or with anyone
described in (a).
IV.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendants
Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah are permanently restrained and
enjoined from violating Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78o(a), by,
directly or indirectly, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of
interstate commerce to effect any transactions in, or to induce or attempt to induce
the purchase or sale of, any security (other than an exempted security or commercial
paper, bankers’ acceptances, or commercial bills) unless registered with the
5
Commission in accordance with Section 15(b) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78o(b),
or associated with a broker-dealer that is registered with the Commission in
accordance with Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act.
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) Defendants’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and
(b) other persons in active concert or participation with Defendants or with anyone
described in (a).
V.
IT IS HEREFY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that
pursuant to Section 21(d)(5) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5), Defendants
Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah are permanently restrained and
enjoined from participating, directly or indirectly, including, but not limited to,
through any entity they control, in any offering of crypto asset securities; provided,
however, that such injunction shall not prevent them from purchasing or selling any
crypto asset security for their own personal accounts.
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) Defendants’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and
6
(b) other persons in active concert or participation with Defendants or with anyone
described in (a).
VI.
IT IS HEREFY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that,
pursuant to Section 21(d)(2) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(2), and Section
20(e) of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77t(e), Defendant Brian B. Amoah is prohibited
from acting as an officer or director of any issuer that has a class of securities
registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78l, or that is
required to file reports pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C.
§ 78o(d).
VII.
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that
Defendants Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah are liable, jointly and
severally, for disgorgement of $935,599.65, representing net profits gained as a result
of the conduct alleged in the Complaint, together with prejudgment interest thereon
in the amount of $136,087.10. Defendants are separately liable for civil penalties, in
the amount of $1,339,368 for Chicago Crypto Capital LLC, and $245,553 for Brian B.
Amoah, 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). Defendants shall satisfy their
obligation by paying these amounts to the Securities and Exchange Commission
within 30 days after entry of this Final Judgment.
Defendants may transmit payment electronically to the Commission, which
7
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
. Defendants 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; Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah as
defendants; and specifying that payment is made pursuant to this Final Judgment.
Defendants shall simultaneously transmit photocopies of evidence of payment
and case identifying information to the Commission’s counsel in this action. By
making this payment, Defendants relinquish all legal and equitable right, title, and
interest in such funds and no part of the funds shall be returned to Defendants.
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.
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 the
violation of any Court orders issued in this action. Defendants shall pay post
8
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 “Fair Fund”),
pending further order of the Court.
The Commission may propose a plan to distribute the Fair Fund subject to the
Court’s approval. Such a plan may provide that the Fair 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 any distribution
of the Fair Fund and the Fair 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 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, Defendants shall not, after offset or
reduction of any award of compensatory damages in any Related Investor Action
based on Defendants’ payment of disgorgement in this action, argue that they are
entitled to, nor shall they further benefit by, offset or reduction of such compensatory
damages award by the amount of any part of Defendants’ payment of a civil penalty
in this action (“Penalty Offset”). If the court in any Related Investor Action grants
such a Penalty Offset, Defendants 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
9
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 Judgment. For purposes of this paragraph, a “Related Investor Action” means
a private damages action brought against Defendants by or on behalf of one or more
investors based on substantially the same facts as alleged in the Complaint in this
action.
VIII.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that this Court
shall retain jurisdiction of this matter for the purposes of enforcing the terms of this
Final Judgment.
IX.
There being no just reason for delay, pursuant to Rule 55(b) of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure, the Clerk is ordered to enter this Final Judgment forthwith
and without further notice.
Dated: May 10, 2023 Entered:
____________________________
John Robert Blakey
United States District JudgeUNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 22-cv-4975
v.
Judge John Robert Blakey
CHICAGO CRYPTO CAPITAL, LLC, et al.,
Defendants.
FINAL DEFAULT JUDGMENT AS TO DEFENDANTS
CHICAGO CRYPTO CAPITAL LLC AND BRIAN B. AMOAH
Having considered the evidence in this matter, the Court grants the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Motion for Default Judgment Against
All Remaining Defendants. The Court hereby enters final judgment against
Defendants Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah as follows:
I.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendants
Chicago Crypto Capital and Brian B. Amoah are 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: 1:22-cv-04975 Document #: 23 Filed: 05/10/23 Page 1 of 9 PageID #:152
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) Defendants’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and
(b) other persons in active concert or participation with Defendants or with anyone
described in (a).
II.
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that
Defendants Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah are 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
Case: 1:22-cv-04975 Document #: 23 Filed: 05/10/23 Page 2 of 9 PageID #:153
3
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 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) Defendants’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and
(b) other persons in active concert or participation with Defendants or with anyone
described in (a).
III.
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that
Defendants Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah are 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
Case: 1:22-cv-04975 Document #: 23 Filed: 05/10/23 Page 3 of 9 PageID #:154
4
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 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) Defendants’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and
(b) other persons in active concert or participation with Defendants or with anyone
described in (a).
IV.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendants
Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah are permanently restrained and
enjoined from violating Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78o(a), by,
directly or indirectly, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of
interstate commerce to effect any transactions in, or to induce or attempt to induce
the purchase or sale of, any security (other than an exempted security or commercial
paper, bankers’ acceptances, or commercial bills) unless registered with the
Case: 1:22-cv-04975 Document #: 23 Filed: 05/10/23 Page 4 of 9 PageID #:155
5
Commission in accordance with Section 15(b) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78o(b),
or associated with a broker-dealer that is registered with the Commission in
accordance with Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act.
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) Defendants’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and
(b) other persons in active concert or participation with Defendants or with anyone
described in (a).
V.
IT IS HEREFY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that
pursuant to Section 21(d)(5) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5), Defendants
Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah are permanently restrained and
enjoined from participating, directly or indirectly, including, but not limited to,
through any entity they control, in any offering of crypto asset securities; provided,
however, that such injunction shall not prevent them from purchasing or selling any
crypto asset security for their own personal accounts.
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) Defendants’ officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and
Case: 1:22-cv-04975 Document #: 23 Filed: 05/10/23 Page 5 of 9 PageID #:156
6
(b) other persons in active concert or participation with Defendants or with anyone
described in (a).
VI.
IT IS HEREFY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that,
pursuant to Section 21(d)(2) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(2), and Section
20(e) of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77t(e), Defendant Brian B. Amoah is prohibited
from acting as an officer or director of any issuer that has a class of securities
registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78l, or that is
required to file reports pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C.
§ 78o(d).
VII.
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that
Defendants Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah are liable, jointly and
severally, for disgorgement of $935,599.65, representing net profits gained as a result
of the conduct alleged in the Complaint, together with prejudgment interest thereon
in the amount of $136,087.10. Defendants are separately liable for civil penalties, in
the amount of $1,339,368 for Chicago Crypto Capital LLC, and $245,553 for Brian B.
Amoah, 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). Defendants shall satisfy their
obligation by paying these amounts to the Securities and Exchange Commission
within 30 days after entry of this Final Judgment.
Defendants may transmit payment electronically to the Commission, which
Case: 1:22-cv-04975 Document #: 23 Filed: 05/10/23 Page 6 of 9 PageID #:157
7
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. Defendants 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; Chicago Crypto Capital LLC and Brian B. Amoah as
defendants; and specifying that payment is made pursuant to this Final Judgment.
Defendants shall simultaneously transmit photocopies of evidence of payment
and case identifying information to the Commission’s counsel in this action. By
making this payment, Defendants relinquish all legal and equitable right, title, and
interest in such funds and no part of the funds shall be returned to Defendants.
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.
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 the
violation of any Court orders issued in this action. Defendants shall pay post
Case: 1:22-cv-04975 Document #: 23 Filed: 05/10/23 Page 7 of 9 PageID #:158
8
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 “Fair Fund”),
pending further order of the Court.
The Commission may propose a plan to distribute the Fair Fund subject to the
Court’s approval. Such a plan may provide that the Fair 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 any distribution
of the Fair Fund and the Fair 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 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, Defendants shall not, after offset or
reduction of any award of compensatory damages in any Related Investor Action
based on Defendants’ payment of disgorgement in this action, argue that they are
entitled to, nor shall they further benefit by, offset or reduction of such compensatory
damages award by the amount of any part of Defendants’ payment of a civil penalty
in this action (“Penalty Offset”). If the court in any Related Investor Action grants
such a Penalty Offset, Defendants 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
Case: 1:22-cv-04975 Document #: 23 Filed: 05/10/23 Page 8 of 9 PageID #:159
9
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 Judgment. For purposes of this paragraph, a “Related Investor Action” means
a private damages action brought against Defendants by or on behalf of one or more
investors based on substantially the same facts as alleged in the Complaint in this
action.
VIII.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that this Court
shall retain jurisdiction of this matter for the purposes of enforcing the terms of this
Final Judgment.
IX.
There being no just reason for delay, pursuant to Rule 55(b) of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure, the Clerk is ordered to enter this Final Judgment forthwith
and without further notice.
Dated: May 10, 2023 Entered:
____________________________
John Robert Blakey
United States District Judge
Case: 1:22-cv-04975 Document #: 23 Filed: 05/10/23 Page 9 of 9 PageID #:160