Christopher Vaughan

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26602 / August 6, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Thompson Hunt and Associates, Ltd., et al., No. 24-cv-6035 (S.D.N.Y. filed Aug. 8, 2024)

SEC Files Proposed Final Judgment as to Company CEO in Alleged Offering Fraud

On August 6, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a proposed final consent judgment as to Christopher Vaughan in the SEC’s civil enforcement action against Thompson Hunt and Associates, Ltd. (“Thompson Hunt”), its founder and Chairman, Carl Arnal (a/k/a Michael Cohen) and its CEO, Vaughan, among others.

The SEC’s complaint, filed on August 8, 2024, alleged, among other things, that Vaughan participated in an unregistered offering of Thompson Hunt securities, and made material misrepresentations to investors in the offering, including misrepresentations concerning the uses of investor proceeds. 

Without admitting the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, Vaughan consented to the entry of a final judgment, which is subject to court approval, that permanently enjoins him from violating Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. In addition, the proposed judgment orders Vaughan to pay a civil penalty of $90,000, and bars Vaughan from serving as an officer or director of a public company. 

The SEC’s litigation is led by David Zetlin-Jones, Nicholas Karasimas, William Conway, and Sandeep Satwalekar, all of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. The matter is being supervised by Mark Sylvester.