Securities and Exchange Commission v. Yanni Tassev (a.k.a. Iani Tassev)

CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedMay 15, 2026
Docket2:24-cv-01120
StatusUnknown

This text of Securities and Exchange Commission v. Yanni Tassev (a.k.a. Iani Tassev) (Securities and Exchange Commission v. Yanni Tassev (a.k.a. Iani Tassev)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Yanni Tassev (a.k.a. Iani Tassev), (D. Nev. 2026).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 6 * * *

7 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE Case No.2:24-CV-1120 JCM (NJK) COMMISSION, 8 Plaintiff(s), ORDER 9 v. 10 YANNI TASSEV (a.k.a. IANI TASSEV), 11 Defendant(s). 12

13 Presently before the court is plaintiff Security and Exchange Commission’s motion for 14 default judgment. (ECF No. 17). 15 16 I. Background 17 The Security and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed this enforcement action against 18 defendant Yanni Tassev, alleging that he used his investor relations position at Boxabl, Inc., a Las 19 Vegas-based manufacturer of modular homes, to defraud seven would-be investors out of 20 approximately $1,595,000. (ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 2, 11–13). According to the complaint, Tassev offered 21 22 to sell the individuals discounted securities at Boxabl even though he did not own or have access 23 to any securities in the business. (Id. ¶ 2). Tassev instructed investors to deposit their investment 24 funds with Sigmas Power, a company he solely controlled. (Id. ¶¶ 10, 15, 17). He then absconded 25 with the money, sending the funds to other accounts he controlled or spending them on gambling, 26 lawyers, or other expenses. (Id. ¶¶ 2, 20). 27 28 . . . 1 The SEC filed this action on June 17, 2024, and in 2025 served Tassev pursuant to the 2 Hague Convention on Service of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in his home country of 3 Bulgaria. (ECF Nos. 7, 9, 11). After three attempts at personal service, the SEC timely served 4 Tassev on July 22, 2025, in accordance with Article 47, paragraph 5 of the Bulgarian Code of Civil 5 6 Procedure, and this court’s deadline. (ECF Nos. 6, 7, 9, 11); (ECF No. 7-1 ¶¶ 5–10). Tassev was 7 required to serve and file his response to the complaint by August 12, 2025. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 12(a). To date, Tassev has not appeared in this case. 9 II. Legal Standard 10 To obtain default judgment a party must follow a two-step process governed by Federal 11 12 Rule of Civil Procedure 55. See Eitel v. McCool, 782 1470, 1471 (9th Cir. 1986). First, “[w]hen 13 a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise 14 defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise, the clerk must enter the party’s default.” 15 Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a). Rule 55(b)(2) provides that “a court may enter a default judgment after the 16 party seeking default applies to the clerk of the court as required by subsection (a) of this rule.” 17 18 Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2). 19 The choice of whether to enter a default judgment lies within the discretion of the trial 20 court. Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089, 1092 (9th Cir. 1980). Eitel v. McCool laid out the 21 following factors that a district court might consider when exercising its discretion as to the entry 22 of default judgment: (1) the possibility of prejudice to the plaintiff, (2) the merits of a plaintiff’s 23 24 substantive claim, (3) the sufficiency of the complaint, (4) the sum of money at stake in the action, 25 (5) the possibility of a dispute concerning material facts, (6) whether the default was due to 26 excusable neglect, and (7) the strong policy underlying the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 27 favoring decisions on the merits. 782 F.2d 1470, 1471–72 (9th Cir. 1896). “The general rule of 28 1 law is that upon default the factual allegations of the complaint, except those relating to the amount 2 of damages, will be taken as true.” Geddes v. United Fin. Group, 559 F.2d 557, 560 (9th Cir. 3 1977) (citing Pope v. U.S., 323 U.S. 1, 12 (1944)). 4 III. Discussion 5 6 On December 18, 2025, the SEC obtained the clerk’s entry of default against defendant 7 Tassev. (ECF No. 13). On April 24, 2026, in accordance with Rule 55(b), the SEC filed the instant 8 motion for default judgment. (ECF No. 17). It seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement 9 of the ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties. 10 A. Eitel Factors 11 12 The Eitel factors weigh in favor of granting default judgment. 13 1. Possibility of Prejudice 14 When a defendant refuses to appear and defend the claims against it, this non-appearance 15 “prejudices [the party’s] ability to pursue its claims on the merits and seek recovery of damages.” 16 See Servfaces Gmbh v. Truong, No. 2:19-cv-1906, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28692, at *6 (D. Nev. 17 18 Feb. 20, 2020). Here, the SEC would be prejudiced if default judgment were not granted as it 19 would have no other recourse against Tassev. 20 2. Merits of the substantive claim and sufficiency of the complaint 21 “The second and third Eitel factors favor default judgment if the plaintiff makes enough 22 factual allegations to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, in accordance with Rule 8(a).” 23 24 Nike, Inc. v. Fujian Jialaimeng Shoes Co., No. 2:17-cv-516, 2019 U.S. Dist. 55583, at *5 (D. Nev. 25 Mar. 6, 2019) (citing Eitel, 782 F.2d at 1471; PepsiCo, Inc. v. Cal. Sec. Cans, 238 F. Supp. 2d 26 1172, 1177 (C.D. Cal. 2002)). 27 . . . 28 1 To state a claim a claim under Section 17(a)(1) of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)(2), 2 and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act, 15 USC § 78j(b) and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder, 17 CFR § 3 240.10b-5(b), the SEC must prove: (1) misrepresentations or omissions by the defendant (2) 4 concerning a material fact (3) in connection with the purchase or sale of a security. SEC v. 5 6 Platforms Wireless Int’l Corp., 617 F.3d 1072, 1092 (9th Cir. 2010); see also SEC v. Rana 7 Research, Inc., 8 F.3d 1358, 1364 (9th Cir. 1993). 8 Additionally, Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act and Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) of 9 the Exchange Act provide for “scheme liability,” which can be proven by demonstrating that the 10 defendant employed “(1) a device or scheme to defraud someone (2) in connection with the 11 12 purchase or sale of a security (3) with scienter and (4) by means of interstate commerce.” SEC v. 13 Alpine Securities Corp., No. 2:22-cv-01279, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 193431, at *20–*21 (D. Nev. 14 Sept. 30, 2025). Concerning the first element, the SEC must demonstrate that the defendant 15 “engaged in conduct that had the principal purpose and effect of creating a false appearance of fact 16 in furtherance of the scheme.” Simpson v. AOL Time Warner, Inc., 452 F.3d 1040, 1048 (9th Cir. 17 18 2006), vacated on other grounds by Simpson v. Homestore.com Inc., 519 F.3d 1041 (9th Cir. 19 2008). 20 Scienter is a required element for violations of Section 17(a)(1) of the Securities Act and 21 Rule 10b(5) of the Exchange Act. Aaron v. SEC, 446 U.S. 680, 701–02 (1980). Only negligence 22 is required for violations of Sections 17(a) and (3) of the Securities Act. Id. Finally, certain 23 24 jurisdictional elements must be satisfied. See Rana Research, Inc., 8 F.3d at 1364.

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Securities and Exchange Commission v. Yanni Tassev (a.k.a. Iani Tassev), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/securities-and-exchange-commission-v-yanni-tassev-aka-iani-tassev-nvd-2026.