The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that recidivist securities law violator Geoffrey Thompson agreed to a permanent, conduct-based injunction and to pay more than $540,000 to settle the SEC's charges that he conducted illegal securities offerings. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a final judgment against Thompson on January 20, 2021.

The SEC's complaint, filed September 3, 2020, alleged that Thompson and his company, Covalent Collective, Inc., raised more than $19 million from approximately 500 investors through unregistered securities offerings for which no exemption from registration applied. As alleged in the complaint, Thompson used numerous mechanisms to solicit investors, including providing investors video and audio recordings in which Thompson encouraged investors to spread the word about the company's securities to friends and family.

Without admitting or denying the allegations of the complaint, Thompson agreed to be permanently enjoined from directly or indirectly, including through any entity he owns or controls, participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security (provided, however, that he shall not be prevented from purchasing or selling securities for his own personal account). He also agreed to pay disgorgement of $481,328, prejudgment interest of $51,615, and a penalty of $9,639.

The SEC's litigation was conducted by Benjamin Hanauer and Ariella Guardi. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Ariella Guardi and Pesach Glaser and supervised by C.J. Kerstetter.