Securities Lawyers Gone Wild – Marcus Luna

On June 27, 2014, the U.S. District Court of Nevada issued an order imposing sanctions against a securities attorney, Marcus Luna, three other individuals – Nathan Montgomery, Adam Daskivich, and David Murtha – and their businesses for their roles in a multi-million dollar scheme.  According to the SEC, the defendant sold shares of Axis Technologies Group, Inc without registration or an exemption. The Court’s order:

• Prohibits securities lawyer, Marcus Luna from providing legal services to anyone in connection with the offer or sales of securities pursuant to, or claiming, an exemption under Regulation D.
• Bars Luna, Montgomery, Daskivich and Murtha from participating in any offering of penny stocks including as a securities attorney.
• Imposes disgorgement and prejudgment interest against:
  • Luna and St. Paul Venture Fund: $4.98 million
  • Montgomery and Minnesota Venture Capital: $2.51 million
  • Daskivich and Real Estate of Minnesota: $3.49 million
  • Murtha and Matrix Venture Capital: $1.72 million
  • Luna: joint and severally with other defendants: $2.39 million.
• Imposes civil penalties against:
  • Luna and St. Paul Venture Fund: $2.03 million
  • Montgomery and Minnesota Venture Capital: $1.97 million
  • Daskivich and Real Estate of Minnesota: $2.73 million
  • Murtha and Matrix Venture Capital: $1.37 million

The court also denied the SEC’s request for permanent injunctions for violations of the registration and fraud provisions of the federal securities laws, holding that the legal services and penny stock bars are sufficient.

The court previously granted the SEC’s Motion for Summary Judgment on February 26, 2014, finding no genuine issues of material fact remained that the defendants each violated Section 5 of the Securities Act, and that securities lawyer, Marcus Luna violated Sections 17(a)(1), (2), and (3) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5.  The court then ordered the parties to further brief the issue of what remedies were appropriate given defendants’ violations.

For further information about this securities law blog post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, by email at [email protected] or visit www.securitieslawyer101.com.   This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute, legal and compliance advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. For more information about going public and the rules and regulations affecting the use of Rule 144, Form 8K, crowdfunding, FINRA Rule 6490, Rule 506 private placement offerings and memorandums, Regulation A, Rule 504 offerings, SEC reporting requirements, SEC registration statements on Form S-1 , IPO’s, OTC Pink Sheet listings, Form 10,  OTCBB and OTC Markets disclosure requirements, DTC Chills, Global Locks, reverse mergers, public shells, direct public offerings and direct public offerings please contact Hamilton & Associates at (561) 416-8956 or [email protected]. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.