The SEC announced that on February 1, 2018, the Honorable George C. Smith of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted the SEC's motion and entered a Final Judgment against Robert Walton, Jr., the former President of Waverly, Ohio-based chemical company, Hadsell Chemical Processing, LLC, ordering Walton to pay disgorgement in the amount of $506,471.86, prejudgment interest in the amount of $51,183.66, and a civil monetary penalty of $506,471.86.

The SEC's complaint, filed on May 17, 2017, alleged that Walton made material misrepresentations to 65 investors in connection with the offer and sale of approximately $12 million in promissory notes between April 2012 and October 2015 and failed to register the offering with the SEC. Among other things, the complaint alleged that Walton misrepresented that the investments were guaranteed, that the company had received multi-million dollar contracts from customers and that that the company was profitable, when none of these statements were true.

On May 22, 2017, Walton was enjoined, by consent, from engaging in future violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws.

For further information, see Litigation Release No. 23835 (May 18, 2017), and No. 23981 (November 9, 2017).