Pretty sure in texas they cant take his house. Also this is only the sec and not the fbi.
The sec is trying to get a court order... why not do it first then tell pirate?
Seems like they have a weak case or something. Anyway 150000.... that wont go far even if collected.
yeah, I think it will be hard to get a conviction. Still, I didn't expect the SEC to do anything.
What would be hard about a conviction. ponzi schemes are completely illegal. Did he promise investors a return? Did he pay investors from the deposits of newer investors? That is really all that is needed. Some financial crime can be very tough to prove but something is either a ponzi or not.
The uncliensed security issue is even easier to prove. He didn't register with SEC. They simply needs to find one or more persons willing to testify that Pirate offered them an investment. Note the word offered. Proof that funds exchanged hands or securities were sold isn't even a requirement.
BTW though the SEC can't file criminal charges that would be the job of the Justice Dept. Of course the SEC can hand over everything they have to them. If Justice Dept doesn't move it probably has more to do with the small scale then any inability to secure a conviction.