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Judge slashes SEC's proposed fine for ex-Miami budget director
Source: Reuters
U.S. | Tue Dec 6, 2016 | 11:38am EST
Judge slashes SEC's proposed fine for ex-Miami budget director
By Dena Aubin | NEW YORK
A federal judge has rejected the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's request for a record $450,000 penalty against a former Miami budget director found liable for misleading municipal bond investors, fining the man $15,000 instead.
In an order on Monday, U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga said the SEC has already made an example of former budget director Michael Boudreaux in its first municipal securities fraud case to go to trial.
Boudreaux and the city of Miami were found liable by a jury in September for shifting money among accounts to hide the city's worsening financial condition from investors who bought over $150 million of Miami's bonds in 2009.
Though a jury found Boudreaux acted with severe recklessness, he did not gain financially from his conduct, Altonaga said, adding that the fine the SEC was seeking appeared "overreaching and punitive."
The SEC's 2013 lawsuit alleged the city's "shell game" helped it win favorable ratings for its bonds and exposed bondholders to substantial risk of losses.
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Judge slashes SEC's proposed fine for ex-Miami budget director
By Dena Aubin | NEW YORK
A federal judge has rejected the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's request for a record $450,000 penalty against a former Miami budget director found liable for misleading municipal bond investors, fining the man $15,000 instead.
In an order on Monday, U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga said the SEC has already made an example of former budget director Michael Boudreaux in its first municipal securities fraud case to go to trial.
Boudreaux and the city of Miami were found liable by a jury in September for shifting money among accounts to hide the city's worsening financial condition from investors who bought over $150 million of Miami's bonds in 2009.
Though a jury found Boudreaux acted with severe recklessness, he did not gain financially from his conduct, Altonaga said, adding that the fine the SEC was seeking appeared "overreaching and punitive."
The SEC's 2013 lawsuit alleged the city's "shell game" helped it win favorable ratings for its bonds and exposed bondholders to substantial risk of losses.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-miami-sec-idUSKBN13V24B