Securities and Exchange Commission v. PV Enterprises, Inc. et al

Filing 82

FINAL JUDGMENT in favor of Securities and Exchange Commission against Panagiotis Villiotis. The Court grants 80 Plaintiff's Motion for Summary. Signed by Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr on 4/14/2017. (mc)

United States District Court
for the
Southern District of Florida
Securities and Exchange
)
Commission, Plaintiff
)
v.
) Civil Action No. 16-20542-Civ-Scola
PV Enterprises, Inc., and others,
)
Defendants.
Final Judgment As To Defendant Villiotis
This matter is before the Court on the Securities and Exchange
Commission’s (the “Commission’s”) motion for the entry of final judgment
against Defendant Panagiotis Villiotis, ordering that he pay disgorgement,
prejudgment interest and a civil penalty (ECF No. 80.)
On December 19, 2016, the Court entered a consent order granting the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a permanent
injunction and other relief against Villiotis (Permanent Injunction and Order,
ECF No. 73.) Pursuant to the order, Villiotis was permanently enjoined from
further violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal
securities laws, was barred from serving as an officer or director of a public
issuer and was barred from participating in any offering of penny stocks. (Id. at
1-4.) The order also directed that Villiotis shall pay disgorgement of ill-gotten
gains, prejudgment interest thereon, and a civil penalty pursuant to Section
20(d) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. §77t(d)]. (Id. at 4.) The order stated that
the Court shall determine the amounts of the disgorgement and civil penalty
upon motion of the Commission. (Id.) The order further states that, for
purposes of such motion, the allegations of the Complaint shall be accepted as
true by the Court, and that the Court may determine the issues raised in the
motion on the basis of affidavits, declarations, excerpts of sworn deposition or
investigative testimony, and documentary evidence, without regard to the
standards for summary judgment contained in Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure. (Id. at 4-5.)
Although the Commission styled its motion as a motion for summary
judgment, the motion asks the Court to determine the amounts owed by
Villiotis and to enter final judgment against him. (Mot. at 4, ECF No. 80.)
Therefore, the Court will treat the Commission’s motion as a motion for the
entry of final judgment.
The Commission has determined that Villiotis owes disgorgement in the
amount of $173,053.77, and prejudgment interest in the amount of
$16,248.48, for a total of $189,302.25. (Mem. of Law at 18-19, ECF No. 80-1.)

In support of its determination, the Commission submitted a declaration from
Matthew McNamara, the Assistant Regional Director for Enforcement of the
Atlanta Regional Office of the Commission. (Decl., ECF No. 80-5.) The
declaration explains how the Commission calculated the disgorgement and
prejudgment interest owed by Villitois and attaches the documentation on
which the Commission relied. (Id.) The Court notes that the Commission has
determined that any amounts that Defendant PV Enterprises, Inc. pays
pursuant to the judgment entered against it (ECF No. 70) will operate to offset
the amount which Villitois is obligated to pay. (Decl. at 5, ECF No. 80-1.)
In addition, the Commission asks the Court to determine the amount of
the civil penalty owed by Defendant Villiotis. Pursuant to Section 20(d) of the
Securities Act and Section 21(d)(3) of the Exchange Act, the SEC may seek to
have a court impose one of three tiers of civil penalties. (Mot. at 19, ECF No.
80-1.) When the violation involves fraud, second tier penalties may be imposed
up to $75,000 for a natural person, or the amount of the ill-gotten gain. (Id.)
When the violation involves fraud or deceit and the violation resulted in
substantial losses, or created a risk of substantial losses, to other persons,
third tier penalties may be imposed up to $150,000 for a natural person. (Id.)
The Commission states that in this case either a second tier or a third tier
penalty may be imposed, since Villiotis’s violations involved fraud and deceit
and created a substantial risk of loss to other persons. (Id.) The Commission
requests that the Court consider the “integral and necessary role that Villitois
undertook in this scheme.” (Id. at 20.)
Defendant Villiotis did not respond to the Commission’s motion. The
Court finds the Commission’s calculations to be well-supported, and therefore
grants the Commission’s motion (ECF No. 80) to enter final judgment against
Defendant Villiotis. Accordingly, the Court orders as follows:
1. Defendant Villiotis is liable for disgorgement in the amount of
$173,053.77, representing unlawful gains as a result of the conduct set
forth in the Complaint, together with prejudgment interest thereon in the
amount of $16,248.48. Villiotis shall satisfy this obligation by paying
$189,302.25 to the Securities and Exchange Commission within 30 days
after entry of this Final Judgment. Any amount up to and including
$173,053.77 that Defendant PV Enterprises, Inc. actually pays pursuant
to the terms of the Default Judgment entered against it by this Court on
December 19, 2016, will offset the amount which Defendant Villiotis is
obligated to pay pursuant to this Final Judgment.

Defendant Villiotis 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 Villiotis 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; Panagiotis Villiotis as a defendant in
this action; and specifying that payment is made pursuant to this Final
Judgment.
Defendant Villiotis shall simultaneously transmit photocopies of evidence
of payment and case identifying information to the Commission’s counsel
in this action to Edward G. Sullivan, Esq., Securities and Exchange
Commission, 950 East Paces Ferry Road, NE, Suite 900, Atlanta, GA
30326. By making this payment, Defendant Villiotis 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 shall send the
funds paid pursuant to this Final Judgment to the United States
Treasury. Defendant Villiotis shall pay post judgment interest on any
delinquent amounts pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1961.
2. Defendant Villiotis shall pay a civil penalty in the amount of $75,000
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
Villiotis shall make this payment within thirty (30) business days after
entry of this Final Judgment. Defendant Villiotis 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 Villiotis 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; Panagiotis Villiotis as a defendant in
this action; and specifying that payment is made pursuant to this Final
Judgment.
Defendant Villiotis shall simultaneously transmit photocopies of evidence
of payment and case identifying information to the Commission’s counsel
in this action to Edward G. Sullivan, Esq., Securities and Exchange
Commission, 950 East Paces Ferry Road, NE, Suite 900, Atlanta, GA
30326. By making this payment, Defendant Villiotis 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 shall send the
funds paid pursuant to this Final Judgment to the United States
Treasury. Defendant Villiotis shall pay post judgment interest on any
delinquent amounts pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1961.
3. The terms of the Final Judgment include the directives in this Order, and
further include the terms of the Permanent Injunction and Other Relief As
to Defendant Panagiotis Villiotis signed by this Court on December 15,
2016 (entered December 19, 2016). There being no just reason for delay,
the Clerk is directed to enter this final judgment against Defendant
Villiotis forthwith. This Court shall retain jurisdiction of this matter for
the purposes of enforcing the terms of this Final Judgment.
Done and Ordered, at Miami, Florida, on April 14, 2017.
________________________________
Robert N. Scola, Jr.
United States District Judge