The SEC is trying to get the Newmans to open their kimonos.
Kind of amusing. The Newmans have deferred prosecution agreements with the DoJ conditional on them either reaching a settlement with the SEC in the civil case including injunctions and lifetime public company bars, or being subjected to a judgement including those sanctions, by July 12th.
Before it will settle with them, the SEC is insisting that they disclose the assets of a particular offshore trust of which they are beneficiaries. The SEC wants a disgorgement etc order as well as the injunctions and bars, and for the disgorgement it wants to know what all of their assets are.
The Newmans are saying that they can't compel the trust to open up; the SEC calls bullshit on that.
So the Newmans are at risk of having their criminal cases re-opened, unless the SEC agrees to a settlement by 12th July.
To get around that, they filed motions in the SEC case asking for the appropriate injunctions and bars against themselves- which would satisfy the conditions of the DoJ deferred prosecution agreement. Don't see that one every day!
The court denied the motions, refusing to get involved with the SEC settlement process. So lots of pressure on the Newmans, it seems.
Anyway, kudos to the SEC for playing hardball with them. Dunno whether any disgorgement in this case would feed into the remissions, but maybe the SEC stance will uncover a pot of gold.
Meanwhile, Marty Weisberg was supposed to be sentenced last Friday in his criminal cases, but nothing on the court docket as yet.
