SEC Target Held In Contempt and Arrested
On January 23, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that a Staten Island man who was a SEC enforcement target was held in contempt of court and arrested for failing to comply with subpoenas requiring him to produce documents and give testimony.
The SEC filed a subpoena enforcement action in federal court in Manhattan on Nov. 4, 2013, against Anthony Coronati, the founder of a business known as Bidtoask.com, which has an office in Staten Island.
According to court documents, entities controlled by Coronati solicited investments relating to the securities of sought-after private companies such as Facebook that investors hoped would later hold initial public offerings. The SEC is investigating, among other things, whether Coronati commingled investor funds with other money in an account he controlled and used it to pay personal expenses. Despite two SEC investigative subpoenas in 2013, Coronati has neither produced documents nor appeared for testimony.
A court order issued on Nov. 7, 2013, required Coronati to comply with the SEC subpoenas. A court order issued on Jan. 17, 2014, found Coronati in civil contempt for ignoring the prior court order. The contempt order requires Coronati, who repeatedly attempted to evade service, to pay $4,812 to the SEC to reimburse the agency for its costs of serving him with court papers in this proceeding.
The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Coronati today. At a hearing held before the Honorable William H. Pauley III, the court ordered Coronati released on $50,000 bond and restricted his travel to the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. The court ordered a further hearing on Feb. 6, 2014.
For further information about this securities law blog post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, by email at [email protected] or visit www.securitieslawyer101.com. This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute, legal and compliance advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Hamilton & Associates | Securities Lawyers
Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
101 Plaza Real South, Suite 202 North
Boca Raton, Florida 33432
Telephone: (561) 416-8956
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www.SecuritiesLawyer101.com
