U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission v. Ferrone

188 F. Supp. 3d 709, 2015 WL 6407456, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143221
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedOctober 21, 2015
DocketNo. 11 C 5223
StatusPublished

This text of 188 F. Supp. 3d 709 (U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission v. Ferrone) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission v. Ferrone, 188 F. Supp. 3d 709, 2015 WL 6407456, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143221 (N.D. Ill. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Elaine E. Bucklo, United States District Judge

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) has moved for civil remedies against Douglas McClain, Sr. and Douglas McClain, Jr. and default judgments against four entities accused of violating federal securities laws. The McClains oppose the SEC’s requests for permanent injunctions, lifetime bans on serving as an officer or director of any public company, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and a civil penalty against McClain Sr.

For the reasons stated below, I grant the SEC’s motion only in part. Specifically, I reject the Commission’s request for unconditional officer-director bars against the McClains and its attempt to disgorge $335,000 from McClain Jr.

I.

In October 2014, I granted the SEC’s motion for summary judgment on its securities fraud claims against the McClains. See Dkt. No. 94. Based on the parties’ evidentiary submissions, I held that a reasonable jury would be compelled to find that McClain Sr. intended to deceive or manipulate investors when he (1) stole [711]*711over $338,000 from investors who thought they were buying stock in Immunosyn Corporation (“Immunosyn”) and received nothing in return (2) misleadingly told investors that the drug Immunosyn was licensed to market and sell, SF-1019, was close to securing regulatory approval when in fact the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) had placed full holds on proposed clinical trials of the drug. Id. at §§ II.A and II.B. I also held that the McClains failed to rebut the inference that they sold some of them Immunosyn shares based on their inside knowledge of the FDA hold, which did not become public information until April 2010. Id. at II.C.

The McClains pin the blame for their loss at summary judgment on their former attorney, John A. Franezyk, whose performance they criticize as so inadequate that it “compelled” me to grant the SEC’s motion. Dkt. N.o. 179 at 2. The McClains falsely assert that Franezyk was suspended from practicing law when he filed their opposition to the SEC’s motion for summary judgment in April 2014. There is no support in the record for that assertion. Moreover, the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission’s (“ARDC”) website shows that Franezyk was first served with a complaint in December 2014 charging him with neglecting a different client’s matter, failing to refund unearned fees, and failing to cooperate in a disciplinary investigation. See ARDC Case No.2014PR00139. On August 4, 2015, the ARDC’s Hearing Board found Franezyk in default and recommended to the Illinois Supreme Court that he be suspended from practicing law for one year. The ARDC’s report and recommendation expressly noted, contrary to the McClains’ assertions in this case, that Franezyk had not previously been disciplined by the ARDC. The McClains’ misrepresentations about Franczyk’s disciplinary history show that they have not accepted responsibility for engaging in securities fraud and continue to blame others for their current predicament.

Since my summary judgment ruling, the SEC has dismissed its claims against James Miceli (who is deceased); severed its claims against Stephen Ferrone, which the parties then consented to try before Magistrate Judge Gilbert; and dismissed its remaining claims against McClain Jr. See Dkt. Nos. 111, 129, 166.

Before me is the SEC’s motion for remedies against the McClains and default judgments against four entities accused of violating federal securities laws.

II.

I start with the SEC’s requested remedies against the McClains: permanent in-junctive relief, officer-director bars, disgorgement, and a civil penalty.

A.

The SEC’s request for permanent in-junctive relief against the McClains is brought under Séction 20(b) of the Securities Act of' 1933 (“Securities Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 77t(b), and Section 21(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d). Those provisions authorize the Commission to seek an order permanently enjoining securities fraud and “require[ ] a district court ‘upon a proper showing’ to grant [such] injunctive relief.” Aaron v. SEC, 446 U.S. 680, 689, 100 S.Ct. 1945, 64 L.Ed.2d 611 (quoting 15 U.S.C. §§ 77t(b), 78u(d)).

The Seventh Circuit recently summarized the legal, standard that governs requests by the SEC for injunctive relief:

Once the SEC has demonstrated a past violation, it “need only show that there is a reasonable likelihood of future violations in order to obtain [injunctive] relief.” SEC v. Holschuh, 694 F.2d 130, 144 (7th Cir.1982), To predict such a [712]*712likelihood, the court “must assess the totality of the circumstances surrounding the defendant and his violation.” Id. This assessment includes consideration of “the gravity of harm caused by the offense; the extent of the defendant’s participation and his degree of scienter; the isolated or recurrent nature of the infraction and the likelihood that the defendant’s customary business activities might again involve him in such transactions; the defendant’s recognition of his own culpability; and the sincerity of his assurances against future violations.” Id.

S.E.C. v. Yang, 795 F.3d 674, 681 (7th Cir.2015).

The summary judgment record established the following facts. In January 2007, McClain Sr. learned that the FDA had blocked Argyll Biotechnologies, LLC from beginning “Phase I” clinical trials of SF-1019 on human subjects. McClain Jr. learned about the FDA hold no later than March 15, 2007 and then sold hundreds of thousands of his Immunosyn shares between April 2007. and . October 2007. Meanwhile, McClain Sr. deceived investors into purchasing Immunosyn stock by making false and misleading statements about the FDA approval process. McClain Sr. also personally stole over $838,000 from investors who thought they were buying Immunosyn stock from him, but received nothing in return. Immunosyn belatedly disclosed to investors in April 2010 that the FDA had placed a hold on Argyll’s proposed clinical trials of SF-1019.

The McClains’ illegal conduct was flagrant, recurrent, and committed with a high degree of scienter. McClain Sr. stole $338,000 from investors and duped countless others into buying Immunosyn stock based on false or misleading statements about the FDA approval process for SF-1019. Meanwhile, McClain Jr. started profiting from his inside knowledge of SF-1019’s dim prospects almost as soon as he learned that the FDA had blocked Argyll from commencing clinical trials. In this litigation, the McClains have not taken responsibility for their actions or provided any indication that they have learned their lesson.

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188 F. Supp. 3d 709, 2015 WL 6407456, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143221, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/us-securities-exchange-commission-v-ferrone-ilnd-2015.