U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 23343 / September 11, 2015

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Joseph Paul Zada, Civil Action No. 13-80173-CV (S. Dist. Fla.)

Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan Businessman Found Guilty of Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that on September 3, 2015, a jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida convicted Joseph Paul Zada, a defendant named in a prior enforcement action, in connection with a Ponzi scheme he operated from 1998 to 2009. The jury found Zada guilty of 15 counts of mail fraud. Zada will be sentenced on November 20, 2015. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.

On November 10, 2010, the Commission filed a Complaint against Zada in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan relating to the same conduct underlying the indictment. The Commission charged Zada with violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. On January 31, 2014, the Honorable Denise Page Hood of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan entered final judgments against Joseph Paul Zada and Zada Enterprises, LLC. The final judgments permanently enjoin both defendants from future violations of the antifraud and the securities registration provisions of the federal securities laws and order the payment of $121,657,741 in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. On May 21, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the District Court's judgment. SEC v. Zada, 787 F.3d 375 (6th Cir. 2015).

For further information, see Litigation Release Nos. 21737 (November 10, 2010), 22798 (September 17, 2013), and 22919 (February 5, 2014).