SEC v. Old South Trading Co., LLC; Brendan H. Church; and Edwin N. Church, No. LR-26361, District of South Carolina (July 22, 2025) — Press Release

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26361 / July 22, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Old South Trading Co., LLC, Brendan H. Church, and Edwin N. Church, No. 6:25-cv-00334 (D.S.C. filed Jan. 17, 2025) SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Father and Son for $25.8 Million Unregistered Securities Offering On July 18, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina entered final judgments against defendants Brendan Church and Edwin N. “Chuck” Church (“Chuck Church”), whom the SEC previously charged with engaging in an unregistered securities offering. The SEC also previously charged Chuck Church for acting as an unregistered broker in connection with the offering. The SEC’s complaint, filed on January 17, 2025, alleged that Brendan Church and his father Chuck Church, through Old South Trading Co., LLC (“Old South”), raised approximately $25.8 million dollars through the unregistered offer and sale of demand promissory notes from approximately 100 investors, including unaccredited investors and investors identified through a social media forum. The complaint alleged that Chuck Church acted as an unregistered broker in connection with the offering by, among other things, soliciting investors, handling paperwork and correspondence with investors, and making recommendations regarding the investments, in exchange for transaction-based compensation from Old South. According to the complaint, no registration statement was in effect with respect to the sale of the promissory notes, and no exemptions from registration were applicable. Old South allegedly stopped making investor interest payments and honoring investor redemption requests in June 2022, resulting in more than $11.6 million in losses to at least 79 investors. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, Brendan Church and Chuck Church each consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining them from violating Sections 5(a) and (c) of the Securities Act of 1933 and enjoining Chuck Church from violating Section 15(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The final judgments also ordered Brendan Church to pay a civil penalty of $300,000, ordered Chuck Church to pay a civil penalty of $250,000, and ordered Chuck Church to pay disgorgement of $15,358 plus prejudgment interest thereon. The judgments barred Brendan Church and Chuck Church from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security, other than purchasing or selling securities for their own personal accounts, and barred Chuck Church from acting as or being associated with a broker or dealer. Upon entry of the judgments, the SEC also filed a notice of dismissal of defendant Old South with prejudice, concluding the litigation. The SEC’s litigation was led by Anna Area and supervised by James Carlson. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Andrew Elliott, Jonathan Shapiro, and Margaret Vizzi, and supervised by Michael Brennan. The SEC would like to thank the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina for their assistance in litigating this matter.

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26361 / July 22, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Old South Trading Co., LLC, Brendan H. Church, and Edwin N. Church, No. 6:25-cv-00334 (D.S.C. filed Jan. 17, 2025) SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Father and Son for $25.8 Million Unregistered Securities Offering On July 18, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina entered final judgments against defendants Brendan Church and Edwin N. “Chuck” Church (“Chuck Church”), whom the SEC previously charged with engaging in an unregistered securities offering. The SEC also previously charged Chuck Church for acting as an unregistered broker in connection with the offering. The SEC’s complaint, filed on January 17, 2025, alleged that Brendan Church and his father Chuck Church, through Old South Trading Co., LLC (“Old South”), raised approximately $25.8 million dollars through the unregistered offer and sale of demand promissory notes from approximately 100 investors, including unaccredited investors and investors identified through a social media forum. The complaint alleged that Chuck Church acted as an unregistered broker in connection with the offering by, among other things, soliciting investors, handling paperwork and correspondence with investors, and making recommendations regarding the investments, in exchange for transaction-based compensation from Old South. According to the complaint, no registration statement was in effect with respect to the sale of the promissory notes, and no exemptions from registration were applicable. Old South allegedly stopped making investor interest payments and honoring investor redemption requests in June 2022, resulting in more than $11.6 million in losses to at least 79 investors. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, Brendan Church and Chuck Church each consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining them from violating Sections 5(a) and (c) of the Securities Act of 1933 and enjoining Chuck Church from violating Section 15(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The final judgments also ordered Brendan Church to pay a civil penalty of $300,000, ordered Chuck Church to pay a civil penalty of $250,000, and ordered Chuck Church to pay disgorgement of $15,358 plus prejudgment interest thereon. The judgments barred Brendan Church and Chuck Church from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security, other than purchasing or selling securities for their own personal accounts, and barred Chuck Church from acting as or being associated with a broker or dealer. Upon entry of the judgments, the SEC also filed a notice of dismissal of defendant Old South with prejudice, concluding the litigation. The SEC’s litigation was led by Anna Area and supervised by James Carlson. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Andrew Elliott, Jonathan Shapiro, and Margaret Vizzi, and supervised by Michael Brennan. The SEC would like to thank the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina for their assistance in litigating this matter.