U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 22831A / October 2, 2013
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Philip A. Falcone, Harbinger Capital Partners Offshore Manager, L.L.C. and Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations GP, L.L.C., Civil Action No. 12 Civ. 5027 (PAC) (S.D.N.Y.) and Securities and Exchange Commission v. and Harbinger Capital Partners LLC, Philip A. Falcone and Peter A. Jenson, Civil Action No. 12 Civ. 5028 (PAC) (S.D.N.Y.), Civil Action No. 12 Civ. 5027 (PAC) (S.D.N.Y.)
Court Enters Final Judgment by Consent Against SEC Defendants Philip A. Falcone, Harbinger Capital Partners Offshore Manager, L.L.C., Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations Gp, L.L.C., and Harbinger Capital Partners LLC
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that, on September 16, 2013, the Honorable Paul A. Crotty, United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York, entered a final judgment by consent against Defendants Philip A. Falcone, Harbinger Capital Partners Offshore Manager, L.L.C., Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations GP, L.L.C., and Harbinger Capital Partners LLC in two related actions. No judgment was entered against Defendant Peter A. Jenson. The final judgment bars Falcone from the securities industry for at least five years. In addition, Falcone and his advisory firm Harbinger Capital Partners agreed to a settlement in which they must pay more than $18 million in disgorgement and penalties and admit wrongdoing.
The SEC filed enforcement actions in June 2012 alleging that Falcone improperly used $113 million in fund assets to pay his personal taxes, secretly favored certain customer redemption requests at the expense of other investors, and conducted an improper “short squeeze” in bonds issued by a Canadian manufacturing company. In the settlement papers filed with the court, Falcone and Harbinger admit to multiple acts of misconduct that harmed investors and interfered with the normal functioning of the securities markets.
On August 19, 2013, Falcone agreed to a settlement which requires him to pay $6,507,574 in disgorgement, $1,013,140 in prejudgment interest, and a $4 million penalty. The Harbinger entities are required to pay a $6.5 million penalty. Falcone also consented to the entry of a judgment barring him from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization with a right to reapply after five years. The bar will allow him to assist with the expeditious satisfaction of investor redemption requests under the supervision of an independent monitor.
Among the set of facts that Falcone and Harbinger admitted to in settlement papers filed with the court:
