Jack Utsick, the defendant in a $300 million ponzi scheme case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has failed on multiple occassions to appear in Miami Federal District Court as ordered by U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck. In failing this week to appear once again for a court ordered deposition in Miami, the SEC submitted a Motion for Contempt Proceedings and Other Sanctions Against Utsick.
In response to the SEC's motion, Judge Huck issued an Order to Show Cause which states as follows:
In response to the SEC's motion, Judge Huck issued an Order to Show Cause which states as follows:
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendant John P. Utsick is ordered to appear before the Honorable Paul C. Huck, United States District Judge, 400 N. Miami Avenue, 13th Floor, Courtroom 13-2, Miami, Florida on Friday, February 6, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. to show cause as to why he should not be held in contempt of court for failing to appear for deposition in Miami as ordered by the Court at the hearing held on January 13, 2009 and in writing in its January 20, 2009 order.
Failure to appear at the above scheduled hearing will result in the Court finding the Defendant John P. Utsick in contempt of court and entering immediate sanctions against the Defendant, which may include entry of a final judgment and an award of attorney’s fees for the Plaintiff.
Utsick appears to have taken asylum in Brazil. When Utsick claimed that travel to the U.S. would be a financial hardship, Judge Huck ordered the SEC to pay for any reasonable travel expenses Utsick would incur. Nevertheless, Utsick still failed to appear.
One must wonder if Utsick, who had an earlier career as a pilot with TWA, couldn't have flown to the U.S. using some benefit accrued to him as a former TWA pilot.
SEC Litigation Release: SEC v. John P. Utsick et al., Civil Action No. 06-20975-CIV-UNGARO-BENAGES (S.D. Fla.)
No comments:
Post a Comment