Securities and Exchange Commission v. Paul

Filing 13

FINAL JUDGMENT AS TO DEFENDANT RONALD D. PAUL: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Sections 17(a)(2) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") [15 U.S.C. 77q(a)(2) and (3)] 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: as further set forth herein. IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant is liable for disgorgement of $109,000, representing net profits gained as a result of the conduct alleged in the Complaint, together with prejudgment interest thereon in the amount of $22,216, and a civil penalty in the amount of $300,000 pursuant to Section 21(d)(3) of the Exchange Act and Section 20(d) of the Securities Act. Defendant shall satisfy this obligation by paying $431,216 to the Securities and Exchange Commission within 30 days after entry of this Final Judgment. 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 for one year after the date of entry of this Final Judgment. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Analisa Torres on 9/15/2022) (kv) Transmission to Finance Unit (Cashiers) for processing.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

9/15/2022

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION,
Plaintiff,
C.A. No. 22-cv-06985-AT
v.
RONALD D. PAUL,
Defendant.

FINAL JUDGMENT AS TO DEFENDANT RONALD D. PAUL
The Securities and Exchange Commission having filed a Complaint and Defendant
Ronald D. Paul 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
without admitting or denying the allegations of the Complaint (except as to jurisdiction and
except as otherwise provided herein in paragraph [VI]); 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 Sections 17(a)(2) and 17(a)(3) of the
Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) [15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)(2) and (3)] 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 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
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made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
or
(b)

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
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 14(a) of the Exchange Act [15
U.S.C. § 78n(q)] and Rule 14a-9 thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.14a-9] by directly or indirectly, by
use of mails, or the means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce or any facility of a national
securities exchange, or otherwise, in contravention of Rule 14a-9 of the Exchange Act, soliciting
or permitting the use of his name to solicit proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of nonexempt securities registered with the SEC pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C.
§ 78l], by means of a proxy statement, form of proxy statement, notice of meeting and other
communications that contained statements, which, at the time and in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, were false and misleading with respect to material
facts or which omitted to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made
therein not false or misleading or necessary to correct statements in earlier communications with
respect to the solicitation of a proxy for the same meeting or subject matter which became false

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or misleading.
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).
III.
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant
is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Rule 13a-14 promulgated under the
Exchange Act [17 C.F.R. § 240.13a-14] by falsely certifying annual reports of an issuer issued
pursuant to Section 301 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Exchange Act Rule 13a-14.
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 prohibited, for two years
following the date of entry of this Final Judgment, 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)].

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V.
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Defendant
is liable for disgorgement of $109,000, representing net profits gained as a result of the conduct
alleged in the Complaint, together with prejudgment interest thereon in the amount of $22,216,
and a civil penalty in the amount of $300,000 pursuant to Section 21(d)(3) of the Exchange Act
and Section 20(d) of the Securities Act. Defendant shall satisfy this obligation by paying
$431,216 to the Securities and Exchange Commission within 30 days 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
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; Ronald D. Paul 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.
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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
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

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