DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
A Virginia man accused of helping to run a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme denies allegations brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a federal lawsuit in Florida.
On Tuesday, the SEC said an investment firm, Trade LLC of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and one of its managing members, Philip Milton, agreed to settle fraud charges in connection with the $28 million scheme. The firm will pay a to-be-determined civil penalty, while Milton agreed to disgorge $2.4 million he received from Trade LLC and pay a $130,000 penalty.
Another managing member, William Center of Richmond, Va., faces charges of violating antifraud provisions of federal securities laws and failing to register with the SEC as a broker-dealer.
Center's attorney, Christopher Bruno of the Bruno & Degenhardt law firm in Fairfax, Va., said his client will "actively and aggressively litigate" the SEC case as he is doing in a Florida lawsuit over how $6 million in Trade LLC's assets should be distributed.
"We are highly confident that the identity of the culpable parties will come to light" during the litigation, Bruno added.
The lawyer said a Florida court has appointed a trustee to control the $6 million until a judge rules on the receivership case filed by Trade LLC. Investment clubs, which intervened in that case, are contesting Trade LLC's distribution plan.
Meanwhile, the SEC has asked a federal court to appoint a trustee to guard Trade LLC's assets.
Copyright 2009 Dow Jones Newswires
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