SEC Slaps Bilzerian With 35-Year Old Gag Order — Again
A federal judge in Washington just reminded Paul Bilzerian that a 2001 injunction banning him from filing new lawsuits without court permission is still very much alive. The ruling keeps the convicted stock manipulator and his family from launching litigation that could indirectly pressure the government to return seized assets, including real estate and cash once valued at over $180 million.
The case traces back to the late 1980s, when the SEC accused Bilzerian of secretly amassing large stakes in public companies and lying about it. After a 1991 criminal conviction and a 2001 civil judgment, the court froze his assets and later gave receivers broad power to collect them. Bilzerian responded by trying to sue the government through family members and offshore entities. In 2001 the court issued a broad “anti-litigation injunction” requiring him to get permission before filing anything that could touch the receivership estate. Last week the SEC asked the court to enforce that order once more after Bilzerian’s wife and son filed fresh claims in other courts. Judge Lamberth agreed, holding that the 2001 injunction remains in force, applies to Bilzerian’s “proxies,” and covers any proceeding that could diminish assets under the receiver’s control.
The order is sweeping. It blocks Bilzerian, his wife, his children, and any entity he controls from starting new lawsuits unless the District of Columbia court gives written approval first. Violators face contempt sanctions. The court also clarified that the injunction covers bankruptcy filings, administrative actions, and foreign proceedings—anything that might let Bilzerian claw back property the SEC believes belongs to defrauded investors.
In plain terms, the judge slammed the courthouse door on a long-running effort to unwind one of the SEC’s oldest and largest judgments. The ruling does not create new law; it simply keeps existing restraints airtight. Crypto watchers should still pay attention: the decision underscores how aggressively judges will protect asset-freeze orders once they are in place and how little patience courts have for creative attempts to route around them through family members or new entities.
For markets the message is simple—old SEC judgments carry long half-lives, and judges will treat end-runs through proxies as contempt. Traders betting that regulatory footprints fade with time just saw fresh proof they do not.