U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23900 / August 10, 2017
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Louis Martin Blazer III, No. 16-cv-3384 (S.D.N.Y. filed May 6, 2016)
Court Orders Financial Adviser to Pay Nearly $2 Million in Case of Defrauding Pro Athletes
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has obtained a final judgment against a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based financial adviser accused of taking money without permission from the accounts of several professional athletes in order to invest in movie projects and make Ponzi-like payments and then lying to SEC examiners who uncovered the unauthorized withdrawals.
The final judgment, entered by consent on August 4, 2017, by the Honorable J. Paul Oetken of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, permanently enjoins Louis Martin Blazer III from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Section 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and orders him to pay approximately $1.8 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and a civil money penalty of $150,000. On May 18, 2016, the court entered a partial judgment by consent and Blazer agreed to the entry of an SEC order, based on the partial judgment, imposing a permanent industry bar.
The court's entry of the final judgment resolves this litigation in its entirety.