U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23500 / March 25, 2016
Securities and Exchange Commission v. James M. Louks and FiberPoP Solutions, Inc., Civil Action No. 15-cv-3456 (D. Minn. filed Sept. 1, 2015)
Court Holds Defendants James M. Louks and Fiberpop Solutions, Inc. in Civil Contempt
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that the Honorable Patrick J. Schiltz of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota has entered an order holding defendants James M. Louks and FiberPoP Solutions, Inc. in civil contempt.
In September 2015, the SEC announced fraud charges and an emergency order to halt Louks and FiberPop from continuing to raise money from investors. In its complaint, the SEC alleged that Louks and FiberPoP defrauded nearly 100 investors by promising them massive returns, while actually spending the investors' funds on various schemes, which the SEC alleged typically bore the hallmarks of "prime bank schemes." On September 2, the Court entered, with the defendants' consent, a temporary restraining order barring Louks and FiberPoP from, among other things, soliciting or accepting any monies from actual or prospective investors.
In September and October 2015, the defendants entered into two agreements with a FiberPoP investor whereby the investor provided a $10,000 retainer for legal services to be rendered to the defendants and agreed to take on $580,000 in debt that FiberPoP owed to another corporation. On March 23, 2016, the Court issued an order finding that the defendants violated the temporary restraining order by soliciting and accepting these funds. Under the court's order, the defendants must return all monies they have accepted from investors since the Court entered its temporary restraining order, and they must submit a sworn affidavit affirming that they have done so.
The SEC's litigation and investigation are continuing. For more information, see Press Release No. 2015-176 (Sept. 2, 2015) and Litigation Release No. 23402 (Nov. 9, 2015).
For more information regarding the dangers of prime bank schemes and tips on how to avoid them, see the information on "Prime Bank" Investments on Investor.gov.