As Chairman and CEO of BusyBox.com, I received restricted shares of stock in lieu of my contractual cash bonus at the close of the company's IPO in June 2000. The transaction was not disclosed in the IPO offering documents because our securities counsel, along with the company's general counsel and attorneys for both the underwriters and auditors, advised the board that the percentage of awarded shares fell below the SEC's disclosure guidelines.
Five years later, the SEC filed a civil complaint stemming from the transaction. Judgments were subsequently entered against the company's general counsel and the securities attorney hired by BusyBox.com to perform the IPO and the CEO of the underwriting firm. The judgments came after court proceedings found them liable under federal statutes.
Nearly a decade after the transaction, however, the SEC has yet to have its allegations against me proven in open court, opting instead to post its unsubstantiated complaint, along with requisite press releases, on the web. All of the accusations are unfounded and untrue.
In 2004, I became a legal resident of Switzerland, creating the Swiss AG, International Media Network. While residing in Zurich, a single shareholder case brought in California state court, of which I was not aware, resulted in a civil default judgment against me for the BusyBox.com transaction.
The SEC used that judgment to obtain a separate, summary judgment in October 2006 based solely on the unopposed California case, without so much as a hearing allowing me to defend myself or to cross-examine witnesses.
The summary judgment resulted in a fine and disgorgement of 2000 income, plus interest. It also banned me from serving as an officer or director of an SEC registrant company, greatly sullying my reputation while hamstringing my efforts to conduct business.
My attorneys and I believe that the summary judgment was erroneously issued and in December 2006 filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York. As with all other aspects of this ordeal, I continue to anxiously wait for my day in court.