The US District Court docket for the District of Utah has dismissed the SEC’s case in opposition to DEBT Field with out prejudice and imposed over $1.8 million in fines in opposition to the watchdog for unhealthy religion conduct.
The fines, which come within the type of lawyer charges and prices, comply with sanctions in opposition to the SEC for misrepresentations made to acquire emergency ex parte aid.
The court docket granted the SEC’s movement to dismiss the present case with out prejudice, which is able to enable the company to file a future associated case in the identical court docket earlier than the identical choose.
DEBT Field and different defendants had argued that the case ought to be dismissed with prejudice to stop the SEC from pursuing additional enforcement actions in opposition to the agency. Nevertheless, the agency stated the ruling was a optimistic growth.
DEBT Field added:
“It is a important win for us. It signifies that the SEC can not proceed with the case because it stands.”
The court docket declined to dismiss the case with prejudice as a result of the method is in its early phases, the defendants haven’t spent important quantities on trial bills, and the SEC’s enforcement actions are within the public’s curiosity.
Court docket sanctioned SEC in March
The SEC initiated enforcement motion in opposition to DEBT Field in July 2023 over allegations of involvement in a $50 million fraud scheme. The regulator subsequently secured a brief restraining order and asset freeze in opposition to the agency.
Later proceedings discovered that the SEC had supplied deceptive data to the court docket when it justified its orders, together with incorrectly describing the recency of account closures and mistaking home transactions for worldwide transactions.
In March, the court docket imposed sanctions on the SEC for its misconduct and ordered it to pay fines.
On the time, the court docket dominated that the SEC couldn’t refile its case — a choice that the SEC’s request for dismissal with out prejudice has efficiently reversed.
