U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23955 / September 29, 2017
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Demitrios Hallas, No. 17-cv-02999 (S.D.N.Y. filed Apr. 25, 2017)
SEC Obtains Default Judgment Against Former Broker Charged with Defrauding Customers
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it obtained a final judgment by default against a former broker charged with knowingly or recklessly trading unsuitable investment products in the accounts of five customers and stealing more than $170,000 from one of those customers. The final judgment, entered on September 27, 2017 by the Honorable Alison J. Nathan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, permanently enjoins Hallas from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The judgment also orders Hallas to pay $549,987.64 in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties.
The SEC’s litigation was led by Michael C. Ellis, David Stoelting and Thomas P. Smith, Jr. and was supervised by Sanjay Wadhwa.
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2017/lr23955.htm