U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Okhotnikov et al

Filing 5

MOTION by Plaintiff U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for judgment by Consent as to Defendant Samuel Ellis and Defendant Sarah Theissen (Attachments: #1 Exhibit Ex. 1 Consent of Defendant Samuel Ellis, #2 Exhibit Ex. 2 Consent of Defendant Sarah Theissen)(Leiman, Timothy)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
)
v.
)
VLADIMIR OKHOTNIKOV,
)
JANE DOE a/k/a LOLA FERRARI,
)
MIKAIL SERGEEV,
)
SERGEY MASLAKOV,
)
SAMUEL D. ELLIS,
)
)
MARK F. HAMLIN,
SARAH L. THEISSEN,
)
CARLOS L. MARTINEZ,
)
RONALD R. DEERING,
)
CHERI BETH BOWEN, and
)
ALISHA R. SHEPPERD,
)
)
Defendants.
)
__________________________________________ )

Case No. 22 C 3978
Judge Jorge L. Alonso

PLAINTIFF’S AGREED MOTION FOR ENTRY OF JUDGMENTS BY CONSENT
AS TO DEFENDANTS SAMUEL D. ELLIS AND SARAH L. THEISSEN
Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission respectfully moves the Court for entry of
the following proposed judgments by consent: (i) Final Judgment as to Defendant Samuel D.
Ellis (“Ellis”); and (ii) Partial Judgment as to Defendant Sarah L. Theissen (“Theissen”).
In support of this motion, the SEC shows the Court as follows:
1.

The SEC filed its Complaint in this matter on August 1, 2022 (Dkt# 1) alleging,

among other things, that Defendants violated the registration and antifraud provisions of the
federal securities laws – specifically, Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”),

15 U.S.C. § 77e; Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77q(a); and Section 10(b) and
Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5.
2.

Ellis has agreed to settle all of the SEC’s claims. Attached as Exhibit 1 is Ellis’

signed consent to the proposed final judgment. Accordingly, upon entry of the final judgment,
the case against Ellis will be resolved in full.
3.

Theissen has agreed to a partial settlement of the SEC’s claims. Attached as

Exhibit 2 is her signed consent to the proposed partial judgment. This judgment obviates the
need to litigate substantive liability on the part of Theissen, and it permanently enjoins her from
violating the federal securities laws at issue in the complaint as well as from engaging in certain
other activity. The proposed judgment further provides that monetary relief sought by the SEC –
in the form of disgorgement, prejudgment interest and a civil penalty – shall be determined by the
Court at a later date on the SEC’s motion. We anticipate moving for such monetary relief after
the claims against the remaining Defendants are resolved. District courts routinely have entered
judgments based on this type of “bifurcated” settlement in SEC enforcement actions, and have
adopted the procedures described in the attached consents for the monetary relief portion of the
proceedings. See, e.g., SEC v. Daubenspeck, 469 F. Supp. 3d 859, 860 (N.D. Ill. 2020); SEC v.
Zenergy Int’l, Inc., No. 13-5511, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127630, at *2-4 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 20,
2016); SEC v. Integrity Fin. AZ, LLC, No. 10-782, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6758, at *3-4 (N.D.
Ohio Jan. 20, 2012).
4.

In the attached consents, both Ellis and Theissen have agreed the SEC “may

present the [proposed judgment] to the Court for signature and entry without further notice.” (See
Ex. 1-2, at ¶ 16.) Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b), there is no just reason to delay entry of the
proposed judgments, and the SEC submits entry of these judgments will conserve judicial
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resources and streamline the issues in this litigation. In addition, there is little risk of piecemeal
appeals as both Ellis and Theissen have waived their right to appeal from the judgment. (See Ex.
1-2, at ¶ 7.)
5.

This case will proceed in full as to the remaining Defendants – Vladimir

Okhotnikov; Jane Doe a/k/a Lola Ferrari; Mikail Sergeev; Sergey Maslakov; Mark F. Hamlin;
Carlos L. Martinez; Ronald R. Deering; Cheri Beth Bowen; and Alisha R. Shepperd – and is not
affected by entry of the proposed judgments.
6.

Pursuant to the Court’s Individual Practices, the proposed judgments in Word

format are being emailed separately to Chambers.

WHEREFORE, for the reasons cited above, the SEC respectfully requests the Court grant
this motion and enter the proposed judgments.

DATED: August 2, 2022

Respectfully submitted,
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
By:

/s/ Timothy S. Leiman
Timothy S. Leiman ([e-mail]) (IL #6270153)
Chicago Regional Office
175 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1450
Chicago, IL 60604
Telephone: [phone]
Patrick R. Costello ([e-mail]) (FL #75034)
Christopher J. Carney ([e-mail]) (DC #472294)
Washington, DC Office
100 F Street NE
Washington, DC 20549-5949
Telephone: [phone]
Pro Hac Vice Admission Pending
Attorneys for Plaintiff
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that on August 2, 2022, I caused to be served the foregoing PLAINTIFF’S
AGREED MOTION FOR ENTRY OF JUDGMENTS BY CONSENT AS TO DEFENDANTS
SAMUEL D. ELLIS AND SARAH L. THEISSEN on Defendants at the addresses and by the
means set forth on the attached Service List.

/s/ Timothy S. Leiman
Timothy S. Leiman

Service List
Samuel D. Ellis, pro se
3726 West Broadway
Louisville, KY 40211
[e-mail]

By electronic mail

Mark F. Hamlin
c/o Ryan Willis, Christian Dysart, James Kurosad
Dysart Willis
530 Hillsborough Street, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27603
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

By electronic mail

Sarah L. Theissen
c/o Gregg N. Sofer and Patrick Coffey
Husch Blackwell LLP
111 Congress Avenue, Suite 1400
Austin, TX 78701-4093
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

By electronic mail

Carlos L. Martinez
c/o Matthew Wilson and David Benowitz
Price Benowitz LLP
409 7th St NW, #100
Washington, DC 20004
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

By electronic mail

Ronald R. Deering
c/o Peter King and Cindy Innocent
Guerra King P.A.
The Towers at Westshore
1408 N. Westshore Blvd., Suite 1010
Tampa, FL 33607
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

By electronic mail

Cheri Beth Bowen, pro se
719 Leesburg Rd.
Pelahatchie, MS 39145-3142

By US mail

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By electronic mail

Alisha R. Shepperd
c/o Matthew Mueller
Fogarty Mueller Harris, PLLC
100 E Madison St., Suite 202
Tampa, FL 33602-4703
[e-mail]

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