A federal choose has ordered america Securities and Change Fee (SEC) to pay roughly $1.8 million in legal professional and receivership charges associated to the regulator’s civil case in opposition to Digital Licensing, the agency doing enterprise as Debt Field.
In a Could 28 submitting within the U.S. District Court docket for the District of Utah, Decide Robert Shelby signed off on an order requiring the SEC to pay roughly $1 million for legal professional charges and prices and $750,000 for receiver charges and prices. The order got here the identical day as one dismissing the case with out prejudice.
The choose cited a March ruling wherein a courtroom found the SEC “engaged in unhealthy religion conduct” over a brief restraining order to freeze Debt Field’s belongings. The agency later filed paperwork with the courtroom claiming that the fee’s info was inaccurate, resulting in the specter of sanctions.
The sanctions in opposition to the SEC required the fee to cowl “all legal professional charges and prices arising from the improvidently entered ex parte reduction.” Decide Shelby basically dominated that each one prices requested by the defendants within the case had been “applicable,” besides one $649 price.
“It is a important win for us,” said Debt Field in a Could 28 X put up. “It signifies that the SEC can not proceed with the case because it stands.”
Associated: US senators call SEC actions in Debt Box case ‘unconscionable’
The SEC lawsuit in opposition to Debt Field in July 2023 alleged the agency perpetrated an unlawful $50 million crypto scheme. For the reason that firm offered paperwork suggesting that the fee had made false statements and misrepresentations in trying to acquire a brief restraining order in opposition to the agency, many within the crypto area have cited it for instance of regulatory overreach.
The fee has ongoing lawsuits in opposition to a number of crypto companies, together with Binance, Kraken, Ripple and Coinbase. Many lawmakers within the U.S. Congress have been pushing for regulatory clarity on the SEC over digital belongings by way of laws just like the Monetary Innovation and Expertise for the twenty first Century Act.
Journal: Godzilla vs. Kong: SEC faces fierce battle against crypto’s legal firepower
