The Firm represents several of the defendants named in the SEC civil enforcement action identified below. This site contains publicly available information and filings in the SEC lawsuit so that persons of interest can observe and learn of the details and developments that may occur in this case.
On July 26, 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil enforcement action against BBC Equities, LLC, Bravata Financial Group, LLC and its founders, John J. Bravata and Richard Trabulsy. The case was filed in the United States District Court--Eastern District of Michigan and was assigned to Judge David M. Lawson. The first sentence of the SEC's Complaint asserts that..."The Commission brings this action to shut down an ongoing offering fraud and Ponzi scheme involving $50 million dollars and at least 440 investors." The Complaint extends another 24 pages with over 80 paragraphs culminating in the SEC's belief that the defendants violated a miriad of Federal securities laws.
What the Complaint does not sufficiently reflect is that the Defendants had been fully cooperating with the SEC by responding to a host of requests for documents and information over several months. The Complaint also does not adequately explain why the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation ("OFIR") also spent months investigating the operations of BBC Equities and did not reach the same conclusion as the SEC, i.e. OFIR did not allege that BBC Equities, LLC was a Ponzi scheme.
Without warning, without adequate notice and without any opportunity afforded to the defendants to continue to cooperate with the SEC and OFIR--the SEC unilaterally decided that it should secretly file an enforcement action and "put BBC Equities, LLC and Bravata Financial Group, LLC out of business." It would appear that the SEC has succeeded in doing just that. Nonetheless, the remaining defendants in the SEC action intend to vigorously defend their actions and conduct as they believe they did nothing that reflects intentional violations of Federal securities laws and methodically followed the advice and guidance of the lawyers working for the two companies.
