SEC Improperly Served Ponzi Suspect, Prompts Vacated Judgment

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s default judgment of more than $500,000 against a British Ponzi scheme suspect should be vacated because the commission failed to properly serve the suspect with notice of its lawsuit, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The SEC served the lawsuit via email on the alleged Ponzi scheme fraudster living overseas after exhaustive efforts concluded his foreign address was unknown.

The SEC failed to comply with the internationally agreed upon Convention on Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters when it served Thomas Megas by email, said Judge Patty Swartz ...