Back in May, the SEC filed subpoenas in California seeking financial records related to the alleged fraud.
In July, the company announced its intention to go from a publicly-traded company to a private entity, which according to Business Wire, was approved in a shareholder meeting at the end of August on the same day the SEC sought a court order forcing the company to turn over documents.
The press release read in part: “At the Meeting, shareholders of the Company approved: (i) the fixing of the number of directors of the Company at five (5); (ii) the election of the five nominated directors, being Dan Bilzerian, Lester Lee, Greg Gilpin-Payne, Ralph Gilpin-Payne and Tom Bunker.”
According to The Globe and Mail, Bilzerian’s company, which traded under “BILZ-CN.” peaked in 2019 with a market capitalization of more than $750-million; however, it had dropped to approximately $170 million when it stopped trading in North America.
In a court filing, SEC staff attorney Patricia Pei alleged “possible violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws” and that uncovered information “indicates [Ignite] may have filed public financial statements that include false or misleading representations” in 2020.
However, this past week the SEC clarified by issuing a statement that it “is continuing its fact-finding investigation and, to date, has not concluded that any individual or entity has violated the federal securities laws.”