On September 30, 2015, the Commission instituted and simultaneously settled cease-and-desist proceedings against Focus Media Holding Limited (“Focus Media”) and Jason Jiang (“Jiang”) (collectively, the “Respondents”). The Commission found that the Respondents negligently failed to disclose accurate information concerning Focus Media’s partial sale of securities in its wholly owned subsidiary Allyes Online Media Holdings Ltd (“Allyes”) to certain Allyes and Focus Media insiders at a favorable price, months before both the insiders and Focus Media sold their interest in Allyes to a private equity firm at nearly six times the price the Allyes and Focus Media insiders had paid. As a result of their violations, the Commission ordered Focus Media to pay a $34,600,000.00 civil money penalty and Jiang to pay a $9,690,000.00 civil money penalty, disgorgement of $9,690,000.00, and prejudgment interest of $1,647,865.43. The Commission also created a Fair Fund, pursuant to Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, so the penalties, along with the disgorgement and prejudgment interest, collected can be distributed to those harmed by the Respondents’ misconduct. See the Commission’s order: Release No. 33-9933. 

The Respondents have paid, as ordered, a total of $55,627,865.43 into the Fair Fund for distribution to harmed investors.

On June 9, 2016, the Commission issued an order appointing Damasco & Associates LLP (“Damasco”) as the Tax Administrator of the Fair Fund. Damasco was acquired by Miller Kaplan Arase LLP and on June 30, 2017, the Commission issued a notice of name change for the Tax Administrator.

On April 11, 2017, the Commission issued an order appointing Analytics Consulting, LLC as the Fund Administrator to oversee the administration and distribution of the Fair Fund, and setting the administrator’s bond amount. See the Commission’s order: Release No. 34-80436.

On November 2, 2017, the Commission published a notice of proposed plan of distribution and opportunity to comment and simultaneously published the proposed plan of distribution (“Proposed Plan”). The notice provides the public with 30 days to comment on the Proposed Plan.  See the Commission’s notice: Release No. 34-82002 and the Proposed Plan.

On December 27, 2017, the Commission issued an order approving the plan of distribution and published the approved plan of distribution (the “Plan”). See the Commission’s Order: Release No. 34-82411 and the Plan.

The Plan provides for distribution of the Fair Fund to investors, who suffered a loss, as a result of the Respondents’ conduct described in the Order, in accordance with the methodology detailed therein.

On May 28, 2020, the Commission issued an order directing the disbursement of $34,430,551.79 from the Fair Fund for distribution by the Fund Administrator to Eligible Investors in accordance with the Plan. See the Commission’s Order: Release No. 34-88963. 

For more information, please contact the Fund Administrator:

Analytics Consulting, LLC
Telephone Number: 952-404-5705
Email: info@analyticsllc.com
Website: www.analyticsllc.com