Delaney Equity Group, LLC. – South Florida SEC Subpoena Enforcement Defense Attorney

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Delaney Equity Group LLC, Civil Action No. 15-cv-81384 (S.D. Fl.)

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that on October 7, 2015, it obtained an emergency court order preventing Delaney Equity Group LLC (“Delaney”), a registered broker-dealer headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, from violating broker-dealer books-and-records provisions of the federal securities laws and from destroying any documents subject to those provisions.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that in April 2015, the SEC Enforcement Division required Delaney to produce to it various categories of documents it was legally required to preserve and produce, upon demand, to the SEC. The complaint further alleges that Delaney, despite being granted several extensions and having made repeated representations through its counsel that the firm would produce documents, has failed to provide any responsive documents to date. As a result of this conduct, the complaint alleges that Delaney violated, and continues to violate, Section 17(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and Rule 17a-4(j) thereunder, which are provisions of the federal securities laws that require registered broker-dealers to furnish promptly books and records upon request by the SEC.

The same day the SEC filed its complaint, it also filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order. Based on the SEC’s motion, on October 7, 2015, the court entered a temporary restraining order that enjoined Delaney, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from violating these provisions for a period of 14 days (subject to the SEC’s filing of a motion for preliminary injunction), and from destroying, altering, or disposing of any of its books, records, and other property until further order of the court. In addition to the temporary restraining order already granted, the SEC is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions, a civil penalty, and other related relief.