SEC v. Gibraltar Global Securities, Inc.: District Court Affirms Magistrate’s Report

In SEC v. Gibraltar Global Securities, Inc., No. 13 Civ. 2575, 2016 BL 7335 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 11, 2016), the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York adopted its prior October 16, 2015 Report and Recommendation (“Report”), holding Gibraltar Global Securities, Inc., and its president and sole shareholder, Warren A. Davis (collectively, “Defendants”) liable for damages following violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) as well as Securities Act of 1933 (“1933 Act”). 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a claim against Defendants alleging violations under Section 15(a)(1) of the Exchange Act and Sections 5(a) and (c) of the 1933 Act. On July 2, 2015, the court granted the SEC’s motion for default judgment against Defendants and referred the case to a magistrate for an inquest on damages. When Defendants failed to appear at the damages hearing or to timely object, the Magistrate accepted all facts alleged in the SEC’s complaint as true. Those facts are as follows:

Defendants operated as an offshore, unregistered securities broker-dealer selling millions of shares of unregistered stock in the company Magnum d’Or. Defendants used the Gibraltar website, email, telephone, or mail to complete transactions for customer stock on the open market. Defendants sold unregistered Magnum shares through their U.S. brokers, placed the proceeds in US-based brokerage accounts, and wired any sales proceeds to Defendants’ Royal Bank of Canada account in the Bahamas, where a 2-3% commission was deducted. Defendants sent the remaining amounts back to their U.S. customer, Magnum via mail. Defendants bought and sold over 11 million Magnum d’Or shares between November 2008 and September 2009 to generate $11,384,589 in proceeds.

Under Section 15 of the Exchange Act, it is unlawful for an unregistered dealer to utilize an instrumentality of interstate commerce to effect transactions in, or to induce the purchase of, any security. 15 USC 78o.  Defendants utilized Gibraltar’s website, email, or telephone—instrumentalities of interstate commerce—to receive shares of stock from its customers and deposit the shares into Gibraltar’s U.S.-based brokerage accounts. As such, the court found no clear error in the Report, holding the Magistrate correctly determined Defendants violated the Exchange Act.

Under the 1933 Act, a defendant violates Section 5 (15 USC 77e) if: (1) he or she directly or indirectly sold or offered securities; (2) without registration in effect for the subject securities; and (3) interstate means were used in connection with the offer or sale.  Because Defendants sold unregistered Magnum shares through their U.S. brokers to generate commissions’ proceeds and sent the remainder back to Magnum via mail, the court determined the Report properly found Defendants liable under the 1933 Act.

Based on a magistrate’s finding of a defendant’s liability, the court can adopt a magistrate’s recommendation for damages. Here, the Magistrate recommended disgorgement, disgorgement for prejudgment interest, and second-tier civil monetary penalties. Disgorgement calculations need only be a reasonable approximation of the profits causally connected to the violation, ensuring that the defendant does not profit from his or her gains. The court held the Magistrate’s recommendation to award disgorgement and disgorgement for prejudgment interest was proper and reasonable based on Defendants’ liability. The court, however, determined the Magistrate’s prejudgment interest calculation contained a mathematical error and adjusted the final amount. The court also held each Defendant liable for a second-tier civil monetary penalty for their “abhorrent” conduct.

Accordingly, the court adopted the Magistrate’s report in its entirety notwithstanding the calculation error in prejudgment interest, awarding damages to the SEC.

 The primary materials for this case may be found on the DU Corporate Governance website.