SEC Entitled to Forfeiture of Lawyer's $5 Million Loan from Client

Bressler Principal Joshua Jones was quoted in the Litigation Newsarticle "SEC Entitled to Forfeiture of Lawyer's $5 Million Loan from Client."  The article discusses the SEC v. Messina case where the SEC initiated an enforcement action against the head of an alleged pyramid scheme, Phil Xu, for defrauding investors of over $65 million and named the attorney as a relief defendant in the enforcement action.

"Facts have obviously mattered when applying the legitimate interest standard," notes Joshua D. Jones, cochair of the ABA Section of Litigation's Securities Litigation Committee. With this decision, "the Ninth Circuit added to the 'legitimate interest' analysis to explicitly require that a claim to the monies must have a 'basis in fact,'" adds Jones.

To read the entire article, click here.