SEC obtains final judgment against Global Investment Strategy UK
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has successfully closed its action against Global Investment Strategy UK Ltd (GIS) and its principal and founder John William Gunn.
On March 22, 2022, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the New York Southern District Court issued final judgments against the defendants. The orders were issued several days after it became clear that a settlement was reached in this case.
Under the judgments, Global Investment Strategy UK is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating, directly or indirectly, Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78o(a), by acting as a broker within the meaning of Section 3(a)(4) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78c(4), and making use of the mails or the means or instrumentalities or interstate commerce to effect transactions in, or to induce or attempt to induce the purchase or sale of, securities (other than an exempted security or commercial paper, bankers’ acceptances, or commercial bills) without being registered with the Commission in accordance with Section 15(b) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78o(b).
The company will also have to pay a civil penalty of $1 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 21(d)(3) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(3)].
John Gunn is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating, directly or indirectly, Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78o(a), by acting as a broker within the meaning of Section 3(a)(4) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78c(4), and making use of the mails or the means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce to effect transactions in, or to induce or attempt to induce the purchase or sale of, securities (other than an exempted security or commercial paper, bankers’ acceptances, or commercial bills) without being registered with the Commission in accordance with Section 15(b) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78o(b).
He will also have to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $100,000 to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As background, the Commission filed its Complaint on December 22, 2020. The Complaint alleges that GIS, a financial services firm based in the United Kingdom, violated Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by acting as an unregistered broker, and that Gunn, as GIS’s chairman and principal, aided and abetted GIS’s violations.