U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26330, dated June 18, 2025.
The SEC announced the dismissal of three civil enforcement actions on June 18, 2025. These dismissals were based on policy considerations rather than an assessment of the merits of the claims. The cases involved John M. Fife et al. (filed 2020), Auctus Fund Management, LLC et al. (filed 2023), and Curt Kramer et al. (filed 2024). The SEC emphasized that these dismissals do not set a precedent for other cases.
The SEC decided to close three lawsuits it had filed against different people and companies. This decision was made for policy reasons, not because the SEC decided the people or companies did nothing wrong. The SEC stated that this decision doesn't mean they will close other similar lawsuits.
Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.
On June 18, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed joint stipulations with the defendants in three separate cases to dismiss, with prejudice, the following ongoing civil enforcement actions against them: Securities and Exchange Commission v. John M. Fife, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-05227 (N.D. Ill. filed Sept. 3, 2020); Securities and Exchange Commission v. Auctus Fund Management, LLC, et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-11233 (D. Mass. filed June 1, 2023); and Securities and Exchange Commission v. Curt Kramer, et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-03498 (S.D.N.Y. filed May 7, 2024). The Commission’s decision to exercise its discretion and dismiss these pending enforcement actions rests on its judgment that the dismissals are appropriate as a policy matter, not on any assessment of the merits of the claims alleged in the actions. Furthermore, as stated in each of the joint stipulations, the Commission’s decision to seek dismissal of the actions “does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s position on any other case.”