SEC v. Anthony Coronati, Case No. 1:13-mc-00372-P1.  On November 5, 2013, the SEC announced it filed a subpoena enforcement action against Anthony Coronati and obtained an order directing Coronati to show cause why he should not be ordered to comply with the SEC’s subpoenas.  The SEC is investigating whether Coronati and others have violated or are violating registration, anti-fraud, or other provisions of the federal securities laws in connection with a business known as Bidtoask.com.

According to the SEC’s application, Bidtoask.com solicits investments relating to the securities of sought-after private companies that investors hope will soon hold initial public offerings, such as Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc., and Dropbox Inc.  According to the SEC, investor funds have been commingled with other funds in an account controlled by Coronati and that personal expenses appear to have been paid out of that account.  The SEC staff is investigating whether any investor funds have been misappropriated or otherwise misused.  As part of its investigation, the SEC served Coronati with a document subpoena and later served another subpoena for documents and sworn testimony.  The SEC alleges that Coronati has ignored the subpoenas and refused to produce documents or appear.  The SEC seeks an order compelling Coronati to comply fully with the subpoenas. The SEC’s investigation is on-going and there has not been a determination that has violated the federal securities laws.