Securities and Exchange Commission v. Paul A. BilzerianSecurities and Exchange Commission v. Paul A. Bilzerian
Oрinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge KAREN LeCRAFT HENDERSON.
Paul A. Bilzerian appeals two district court orders entered against him in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). First, Bilzerian appeals the order granting partial summary judgment to the SEC on its claims that Bilzerian violated numerous securities laws and permanently enjoining him from further violations. Second, Bilzerian challenges the order that he disgorge $33,-140,787, representing the profit he obtained from his securities law violations.
I.
Before the commencement of this civil aсtion, Bilzerian was convicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York of numerous violations of the federal securities laws. He was sentenced to four years in prison, fined $1.5 million dollars and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service.
1
The Second Circuit affirmed Bilzerian’s convictions in all respects.
See United States v. Bilzerian,
Bilzerian’s misrepresentations were designed to create the impression that he was ready, willing and able to mount hostile takeovers of Cluett and Hammermill — if shareholders had known that Bilzerian had indemnified his investors against any losses, they would have questioned his financial ability to effeсtuate a hostile takeover. The purpose of Bilzerian’s scheme was to induce a “white knight” to rescue the companies from his hostile takeover by purchasing stock, including his own, at a premium. 5 The scheme succeeded — Bilzerian sold his Cluett stock and his Hammermill stock at a substantial profit. 6
Bilzerian’s convictions were also based on his “parking” of H.H. Robertson Company (H.H. Robertson) and Armco Steel (Armco) stock with Jefferies. Under two separate
The district court issued two orders that Bilzerian now appeals. The first order granted partial summary judgment to the SEC on its claims that Bilzerian had violated certain securities laws and regulations and accordingly enjoined Bilzerian from future violations. The court based its grant of summary judgment on the collateral estoppel effect of Bilzerian’s criminal convictions. In its second order, the court ordered disgorgement of Bilzerian’s illicit profits.
Bilzerian argues: (1) collateral estoppel was improperly applied by the trial court because his criminal cоnvictions did not conclusively establish the facts necessary to conclude that he had committed the violations with which he was charged in this action; (2) the court erred in issuing a permanent injunction on the SEC’s motion for summary judgment because genuine issues of material fact existed; (3) the disgorgement order violates the double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment; and (4) the court erred in calculating the amount to be disgorged.
II.
Based on the collateral estoppel effect of Bilzerian’s criminal convictions, the district court entered summary judgment on the SEC’s claims that Bilzerian aided and abetted Jefferies’ violation of section 7(c) and Regulation T and that Bilzerian himself violated sections 7(f), 10(b), 13(d), 14(d), 14(e) and 17(a)(1) of the Act; SEC Rules 10b-5, 13d-l, 13d-2, 14d-3, 14d-6, and 17a-3 promulgated under the Act; and Regulation X.
8
The doctrine of collateral estoppel prohibits relitigation of an issue of fact or law that has been decided in earlier litigation.
Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore,
Specifically, Bilzerian argues that the district court erred in holding that his section 10(b) convictions estop him from challenging his civil liability under sections 13(d), 14(d) and 14(e) of the Act becausе the jury did not necessarily find that his misrepresentations were material as the SEC is required to establish under those sections. We disagree. Bilzerian appealed his criminal convictions on the ground that his misrepresentations and omissions were not material. The Second Circuit rejected his argument explaining that “[ajfter hearing the evidence in this case, the jury concluded that the misstatements and omissions were material.”
United States v. Bilzerian,
Bilzerian also argues that his convictions did not establish the facts necessary to support the SEC’s civil claims that he violated margin requirements 9 (Seventh Claim, App. of SEC at 1197 ¶ 154-56), aided and abetted Jefferies’ margin violations (Eighth Claim, App. of SEC at 1197-98 ¶ 157-61) and aided and abetted Jefferies’ falsification of records (Sixth Claim, App. of SEC at 1196 ¶ 149-53). Our review of the record indicates that Bilzerian’s criminal convictions conclusively established all of the facts the SEC was required to prove with respect to the specified claims. 10 Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s grant of partial summary judgment.
We review de novo the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the SEC on its request for permanent injunctive relief. When a defendant has violated the securities laws, an injunction is appropriate if the court determines there is a reasonable likelihood that he will violate thе laws again in the future.
See SEC v. First City Fin. Corp.,
There is no genuine issue of material fact regarding whether Bilzerian’s securities violations were part of a pattеrn or whether they were flagrant and deliberate in nature; they unquestionably were, as the brief summary of his conduct set forth earlier manifests. Courts have often found that the combination of these two factors justifies injunc-tive relief prohibiting future violations of the securities laws.
See, e.g., SEC v. Blatt,
Bilzerian argues, however, that a genuine issue of material fact exists regarding whether his occupation provides him an opportunity to violate the securities laws. We disagree. Even assuming Bilzerian is correct, that circumstance would not make in-junctive relief inappropriate.
See SEC v. Koracorp Indus.,
Bilzerian also argues that he has given the court sufficient assurances against future violations to remove the need for a permanent injunction. Bilzerian’s argument relies on his affidavit filed in the district court in which he declares that he “will be careful and make every effort to assure that [he does] not violate the federal securities law in the future.”
See
App. of SEC at 478. If a defendant could survive summary judgment by simply submitting a self-serving statement about his desire to conform to the law in the future, it “would establish ... a ritualistic dodge around a permanent injunction on a motion for summary judgment.”
SEC v. Murphy,
Finally, Bilzerian argues that the district court was required to hold a hearing before entering a permanent injunction against him. Courts have approved the entry of a permanent injunction, however, on a motion for summary judgment based wholly on the facts established by the defendant’s prior criminal conviction.
See SEC v. Gruenberg,
Bilzerian alleges that the disgorgement order violates the double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment because it punishes him for the same conduct that led to his criminal convictions. The double jeopardy clause is violated when multiple punishments are imposed for the same offense.
See Schiro v. Farley,
— U.S. -, -,
Bilzerian bases his argument on the Supreme Court’s decision in
United States v. Halper,
The reach of the Halper decision is short. As the Court explained: “What we announce now is a rule for the rare case, the case such as the one before us, where a fixed penalty provision subjects a prolific but small-gauged offender to a sanction overwhelmingly disproportionate to the damages he has caused.” Because the disgorgement order did not ask Bilzerian to give up anything in excess of the amount of his illicit gains, Bilzerian does not present “the rare ease” contemplated by the Court in Halper. 11 Accordingly, we conclude that the disgorgement order is remedial in nature and does not constitute punishment within the meaning of double jeopardy.
Finally, we reject Bilzerian’s argument that disgorgement constitutes punishment unless it is ordered to make the government whole. Disgorgement is no less remedial in nature merely because victims other than the gоvernment have been injured by Bilzerian’s violations of the securities laws. The district court ordered Bilzerian to give up only his ill-gotten gains; it did not subject him to an additional penalty. Therefore the disgorgement does not constitute punishment.
See United States v. Tilley,
V.
Finally, Bilzerian mounts two other challenges to the disgorgement order. Bilzerian first argues that disgorgement was not appropriate because he did not profit from his violations of the securities laws. This argument rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of the reason the district court ordered disgorgement. Bilzerian asserts that the district court found disgorgement appropriate because his misrepresentations suppressed the market price of the stock in question and he was therefore able to purchase stock at an artificially lower price; accordingly, he should disgorge the resulting profit. As Bilzerian sees it, the district court erred in ordering disgorgement because he did not purchase any stock after his alleged misrepresentations and so he could not have profited from any purchase price decrease caused by his misrepresentations.
But the district court found that Bilzerian’s misrepresentations
inflated
the price he received from the
sale
of the securities.
See
App. of SEC at 1149-50. If Bilzerian had disclosed the truth about his stock purchases and source of funding, the market would have discounted his ability to take over the target corporations. By failing to make these disclosures, Bilzerian created the impression that hostile takeovers were imminent, thereby driving up the price of the
Bilzerian also argues that the district court incorrectly calculated the amount of the disgorgement ($33,140,787.00). We will uphold the district court’s disgorgement calculation unless it constitutes clear error.
SEC v. First City Fin.,
Calculations of this sort are often imprecise—it is impossible to say with certainty what portion of Bilzerian’s profits is attributable to his securities violations. Bilzerian, however, bears the burden of establishing that the price increases that occurred during his ownership of the stocks were attributable to market forces rather than to his violations.
See First City Fin.,
Finally, Bilzerian argues that disgorgement was not proper because no one was injured by his fraudulent schemes. We disagree. Whether or not Bilzerian’s securities violations injured others is irrelevant to the question whether disgorgement is appropriate. The primary purpose of disgorgement is not to refund others for losses suffered but rather “to deprive the wrongdoer of his ill-gotten gain.”
SEC v. Blatt,
For the preceding reasons, the decisions of the district court are
Affirmed.
Notes
. The court subsequently granted Bilzerian's post-conviction motion to reduce his prison sentence .to twenty months.
See United States v. Bilzerian,
. Bilzerian initiated the Cluett accumulation agreement with Jefferies on May 21, 1985. From May 21 to May 27, Jefferies acquired 302,-000 shares of Cluett stock for Bilzerian. Appendix (App.) of SEC at 1163. On June 26, 1986, Bilzerian and Jefferies entered into the Hammer-mill accumulation agreement. Id. at 1186. From June 26 to July 16, Jefferies acquired 551,-000 shares of Hammermill stock for Bilzerian. Id. at 1187.
. Section 13(d)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act (Act),
. Section 14(d)(1) of the Act,
. A “white knight” is a stock bidder friendly to the management of the target company.
. Based on this conduct, Bilzerian was convicted of violating section 10(b) of the Act,
. Bilzerian was convicted, under
.
Section 10(b),
Section 13(d),
Section 14(d),
Section 14(e),
Section 17(a)(1),
Rule 1 Ob-5,
. Margin requirements prohibit a brokеr from extending credit in order to purchase securities without obtaining collateral,
see
. The jury that convicted Bilzerian expressly found that he had intentionally accumulated Cluett and Hammermill stock through a nominee. J.A. at 174-75. Bilzerian's accumulation agreement allowed him to obtain beneficial ownership without making any payment. The accumulation agreements thus established that Bilze-rian violated the Act's margin requirements.
The evidence also supports a finding that Bilzerian aided and abetted Jefferies’ margin and record keeping violations, although there is now reason to doubt that he could be held civilly liable for such aiding and abetting.
See Central Bank of Denver v. First Interstate Bank of Denver,
N.A., -U.S. -,
Further, Bilzerian's criminal convictions sufficiently support his liability for aiding and abetting Jefferies’ violations of the Act’s record keeping requirements. Bilzerian was aware that Jef-feries had not recorded his beneficial ownership of stock—indeed that was the purpose behind his agreement with Jefferies. He also substantially assisted Jefferies in its violations of the record keeping requirements—had he not entered into the accumulation agreements with Jefferies, Jef-feries would not have violated the record keeping requirements.
Finally, Bilzerian's convictions established the facts necessary to support the district court's grant of summary judgment on the claims that his actions with respect to the Robertson and Armco stocks violated the Act's margin requirements and aided and abetted Jefferies’ violation of the margin and rеcord keeping requirements.
. Moreover, Bilzerian ignores language elsewhere in the
Halper
opinion that a civil sanction is punitive if it "may not fairly be characterized as remedial, but
only
as deterrent or retribution.”
Halper,