Distressed Debt Purchaser, Owner to Pay $5 Million in SEC Suit

A Minnesota-based distressed debt portfolio manager and its owner must cough up about $5.14 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly luring investors into purchasing promissory notes and misappropriating funds.

Required disgorgement payments reflect the commission-calculated difference between what investors in promissory notes gave to Phoenix Asset Group LLC and what the defunct firm had returned, Judge Eric C. Tostrud said, ordering it and owner Robyn Bowman return a combined $3.03 million in allegedly ill-gotten gains and pay $916,072 in prejudgment interest. Phoenix must also pay a $1 million civil penalty while Bowman was hit with a $200,000 ...