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
)
)
)
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.
__________________________________________ )
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Case No. 22 C 3978

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

Case No. 22 C 3978

FINAL JUDGMENT AS TO DEFENDANT SAMUEL D. ELLIS
The Securities and Exchange Commission having filed a Complaint and Defendant
Samuel D. Ellis 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;
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 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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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).
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
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

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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, 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:
(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).
IV.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that pursuant to Section
21(d)(5) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5)], Defendant is permanently restrained and

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enjoined from (1) offering, operating, or participating in any marketing or sales program in
which the participant is compensated or promised compensation solely or primarily for (a)
inducing another person to become a participant in the program; or (b) if such induced person
induces another to become a participant in the program; and (2) participating directly or
indirectly in any offering of crypto asset securities; provided, however, that, such injunction shall
not prevent Defendant from purchasing or selling crypto asset securities for his own personal
account; and (3) any other relief that the Court deems just and appropriate.
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 HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant
is liable for disgorgement of $36,621, representing net profits gained as a result of the conduct
alleged in the Complaint, together with prejudgment interest thereon in the amount of $1,021,
and a civil penalty in the amount of $31,128 pursuant to Securities Act Section 20(d) [15 U.S.C.
§ 77t(d)] and Exchange Act Section 21(d)(3) [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(3)]. Defendant shall satisfy
this obligation by paying $68,770 to the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the
terms of the payment schedule set forth in paragraph VI below 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

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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; Samuel D. Ellis 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.
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. 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
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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 any distribution 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 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 he is entitled to, nor shall he 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 Judgment. For purposes 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 Defendant shall pay
the total of disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and penalty of $68,770 in four installments to
the Commission according to the following schedule: (1) a $17,192.50 payment within 14 days

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of entry of this Final Judgment; (2) a $17,192.50 payment within 120 days of entry of this Final
Judgment; (3) a $17,192.50 payment within 240 days of entry of this Final Judgment; and (4) a
$17,192.50 payment within 360 days of entry of this Final Judgment. Payments shall be deemed
made on the date they are received by the Commission and shall be applied first to post judgment
interest, which accrues pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1961 on any unpaid amounts due after 30 days of
the entry of Final Judgment. Prior to making the final payment set forth herein, Samuel D. Ellis
shall contact the staff of the Commission for the amount due for the final payment.
If Defendant fails to make any payment by the date agreed and/or in the amount
agreed according to the schedule set forth above, all outstanding payments under this Final
Judgment, including post-judgment interest, minus any payments made, shall become due and
payable immediately at the discretion of the staff of the Commission without further application
to the Court.
VII.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that, solely for purposes of
exceptions to discharge set forth in Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. §523, the
allegations in the complaint are true and admitted by Defendant, and further, any debt for
disgorgement, prejudgment interest, civil penalty or other amounts due by Defendant under this
Final Judgment or any other judgment, order, consent order, decree or settlement agreement
entered in connection with this proceeding, is a debt for the violation by Defendant of the federal
securities laws or any regulation or order issued under such laws, as set forth in Section
523(a)(19) of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(19).

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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 54(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, the Clerk is ordered to enter this Final Judgment forthwith and without further notice.
Dated: ______________, _____
____________________________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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