Opinion
22 C 3978
08-02-2022
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.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Timothy S. Leiman Patrick R. Costello Christopher J. Carney Pro Hac Vice Admission Pending Attorneys for Plaintiff
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Timothy S. Leiman
Patrick R. Costello
Christopher J. Carney
Pro Hac Vice Admission Pending
Attorneys for Plaintiff
PLAINTIFF'S AGREED MOTION FOR ENTRY OF JUDGMENTS BY CONSENT AS TO DEFENDANTS SAMUEL D. ELLIS AND SARAH L. THEISSEN
Jorge L. Alonso, Judge
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 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.