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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION,

Plaintiff,   

-against-

HENRY McKELVEY BLODGET,

Defendant.   


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Civil Action No.

FINAL JUDGMENT AS TO DEFENDANT
HENRY McKELVEY BLODGET

Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") having filed a Complaint in this action ("Complaint") and Defendant Henry McKelvey Blodget ("Defendant"), having (a) entered a general appearance, (b) consented to the Court's jurisdiction over Defendant and the subject matter of this action, (c) consented to entry of this Final Judgment without admitting or denying the allegations of the Complaint (except as to jurisdiction), (d) waived findings of fact and conclusions of law, and (e) waived any right to appeal from this Final Judgment:

I.
Injunctive Relief

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that:

A. Defendant, his agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and all persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise, are permanently restrained and enjoined from aiding and abetting violations of Section 15(c) of the Exchange Act and Rule 15c1-2 promulgated thereunder [15 U.S.C. §_78o(c) and 17 C.F.R. § 240.15c1-2] by making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce to effect any transaction in, or to induce or attempt to induce the purchase or sale of, any security by means of any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person.

B. Defendant, his agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and all persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise, are permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Rule 2110 of the Conduct Rules of NASD Inc. ("NASD") and Rules 401 and 476 of the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. ("NYSE"), by_publishing research reports that are contrary to his beliefs and fail to disclose that fact, do not provide a sound basis for evaluating facts, are not properly balanced, and/or contain exaggerated or unwarranted claims and/or opinions for which there is no reasonable basis.

C. Defendant, his agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and all persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise, are permanently restrained and enjoined from violating NASD Rule 2210 and NYSE Rule 472 by issuing communications to the public that are contrary to his beliefs and fail to disclose that fact, do not provide a sound basis for evaluating facts, are not properly balanced, and/or contain exaggerated or unwarranted claims and/or opinions for which there is no reasonable basis.

II.
Monetary Sanctions

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that:

A. As a result of the violations alleged in the Complaint, Defendant shall pay a total amount of $4,000,000. This amount includes:

1. $2,000,000, as a penalty; and

2. $2,000,000, as disgorgement.

B. Defendant shall pay $4,000,000 by wire transfer within 30 business days of the entry of this Final Judgment to the Clerk of this Court, together with a cover letter identifying Henry M. Blodget as a defendant in this action; setting forth the title and civil action number of this action and the name of this Court; and specifying that payment is made to the Court Registry Investment System ("CRIS") Distribution Fund Account pursuant to this Final Judgment. Defendant shall simultaneously transmit photocopies of his payments and letters to the Clerk of the Court to the SEC's counsel in this action. By making these payments, Defendant relinquishes all legal and equitable right, title, and interest in such funds, and no part of the funds shall be returned to Defendant. The Clerk shall deposit the funds into an interest bearing account with the CRIS, to be designated the "Distribution Fund Account." These funds, together with any interest and income earned thereon (collectively, the "Distribution Fund"), shall be held by the CRIS until further order of the Court. The penalty described in Paragraph II.A.1 above shall be distributed pursuant to the Fair Funds provisions in Section 308 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; provided, however, that the full penalty amount shall still be considered a penalty for tax and any other purposes. In accordance with the guidelines set by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Clerk is directed, without further order of this Court, to deduct from the income earned on the money in the Distribution Fund a fee equal to ten percent of the income earned on the Distribution Fund. Such fee shall not exceed that authorized by the Judicial Conference of the United States. The plaintiff shall propose to the Court for its approval a plan for the disposition of the monies in the Distribution Fund.

III.
Standing

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that, notwithstanding any rule or provision of law, nothing herein shall be deemed to confer standing or right of intervention upon any persons other than the Commission or the Defendant.

IV.
Record Retention and Non-Destruction Requirement

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that, for a period of five years from the effective date of this Final Judgment or such shorter or longer period as the Court may order, Defendant, and his agents, affiliates, servants, employees, attorneys, and those persons in active concert or participation with them, and each of them, are hereby enjoined from destroying, mutilating, concealing, altering, or disposing of : (a) any research distributed by Defendant or Merrill Lynch Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated ("Merrill Lynch") during the relevant period identified in the Complaint; (b) documents sufficient to identify all customers who bought or sold equity securities of the issuers as to which Defendant issued research during the relevant period identified in the Complaint (the "Transactions"), including but not limited to documents sufficient to identify the dates, amounts, and prices of the Transactions; (c) documents sufficient to identify which customers received which research distributed by Defendant during the relevant period identified in the Complaint; (d) order entry information sufficient to identify whether the Transactions were solicited by Defendant or Merrill Lynch; (e) documents sufficient to identify the publicly-traded companies for which Merrill Lynch sought to provide, was engaged to provide, or did provide investment banking services during the relevant period identified in the Complaint; and (f) any and all written (including electronic) communication, including communications to and from customers and intra-firm communications, relating to Merrill Lynch's investment banking and equity research operations during the relevant period; provided, however, that Defendant need not retain duplicate identical copies of public documents filed with the Commission or any other regulatory authority.

V.
Defendant's Consent Incorporated by Reference

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the Consent is incorporated herein with the same force and effect as if fully set forth herein.

VI.
Court to Retain Jurisdiction

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that this Court shall retain jurisdiction of this matter for the purposes of enforcing the terms of this Final Judgment.

VII.
Entry of Judgment Forthwith

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that, there being no just cause for delay, the Clerk of the Court shall, pursuant to Rule 54(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, enter this Judgment forthwith and without further notice.

Dated: New York, New York

______________, 2003

_______________________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

 

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/judg18115b.htm


Modified: 04/28/2003