Riordan v. SEC, No. 10-1034

Petition for Review of SEC Order

In Riordan v. SEC, No. 10-1034, a petition for review of an order by the Securities and Exchange Commission, in which the SEC found petitioner liable for various violations of the securities laws and imposed heavy sanctions on him, the court denied the petition where the record overwhelmingly demonstrated that petitioner paid an official in return for state business; and 2) the SEC's cease-and-desist order was not a "fine, penalty, or forfeiture" covered by the five-year statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. section 2462.

As the court wrote:  "The New Mexico State Treasurer's Office invested some of the state's revenues in securities. From 1996 to 2002, the Treasurer's Office selected Guy Riordan's brokerage firms for many of those transactions. But the process for choosing brokerage firms was corrupt: Riordan paid kickbacks to New Mexico's Treasurer for the business. The crooked scheme ultimately unraveled amid a series of government investigations and enforcement actions."

Related Resources

• Read the DC Circuit's Decision in Riordan v. SEC, No. 10-1034