ATLANTA (HedgeWorld.com)–A federal judge in Georgia recently granted a default judgment to the Securities and Exchange Commission in a lawsuit it brought in August 2005 against Barry A. Bingham and Bingham Capital Management Corp.
The complaint alleged that in 2001 and 2002, Mr. Bingham used misrepresentations and omissions of material fact to defraud at least 22 investors in Bingham Growth Partners LP (Growth Partners), a hedge fund that he managed through BCMC, an unregistered investment adviser.
It also alleged that Mr. Bingham misappropriated approximately $141,637 of BGP’s assets, including $34,638 as “soft dollar credits.”
On April 21, Thomas W. Thrash, U.S. district court judge for the Northern District of Georgia, entered the judgment finding in accord with the complaint that the individual and corporate defendants had violated section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, section 206 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and the SEC’s rule 10b-5.
The court enjoined any further violations and ordered each defendant to pay disgorgement of more than $1 million, prejudgment interest of $169,835, and a civil penalty of $100,000.