Utsick Not Done Yet

Richard Kraut, the attorney for Jack Utsick in the promoter’s fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission over fraud charges, has filed a motion for reconsideration of a Florida judge’s order that the promoter, now living in Brazil, pay “disgorgement” and civil penalties.

The June 8 filing for reconsideration claims a “fundamental flaw” in the May 19 ruling by Judge Paul Huck. Kraut and Utsick, who has not returned to the United States for depositions or court-ordered hearings, claim the order failed to establish a case for disgorgement because it didn’t produce evidence in support of its proposed findings.

Among the faulty evidence claimed by Kraut and Utsick are expenditures that the judge included as personal expenses but were, according to the filing, business related as well as inclusion of other disputed expenses.

The filing also disputes the finding that Utsick operated a “Ponzi” scheme, as well as reports that investors lost more than $300 million. In conclusion, the filing claims that the penalties should amount to no more than $65,000 rather than the $4.1 million ordered by Huck.