Welcome to the James Douglas Distribution Fund Website
This website has been established to provide general information related to the James Douglas Distribution Fund.
Status
KCC has compiled the Payment File and provided to the Commission. On April 4, 2019, the Commission submitted a motion for the Court to enter an order to authorize the transfer of the funds for distribution. The motion can be reviewed by clicking the Case Documents link above.
On April 19, 2019, the Court entered an order approving the motion and authorizing the transfer of the funds for distribution by the court registry so that distribution can occur.
Checks were issued on June 10, 2019 to approved Eligible Recipients.
Distribution Fund
If you received a distribution payment in the 1980s as a harmed investor in SEC v. James L. Douglas, a/k/a/ James L. Cooper, Case No. C82-29 (Northern District of Ohio, Western Division), you may be entitled to a subsequent payment from the current distribution fund. Please contact the Distribution Agent at 1-866-680-6121 or by email to info@JamesDouglasDistributionFund.com to see if you are on the list of investors who received a previous distribution payment and are to receive a certification form in order to participate in the current distribution. For information about this second distribution, please review the Douglas Distribution Plan Notice, which describes the distribution and explains what steps you need to complete to obtain a distribution payment.
As provided in the Distribution Plan, the Distribution Fund (as defined below) less administrative costs is to be used pay injured investors. Those injured investors who received distribution payments in the First Distribution, or their legal heirs or successors, are eligible to participate in the distribution of the Distribution Fund subject to the conditions detailed in the Distribution Plan.
Background
This litigation is currently pending before the Honorable Jack Zouhary in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division (the “Court”). This action is known as Securities and Exchange Commission v. James L. Douglas a/k/a James L. Cooper, Case No. C82-29.
On January 18, 1982, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) filed a complaint against James L. Douglas a/k/a James L. Cooper (“Douglas”), alleging that he had raised more than $7.5 million by offering and selling unregistered securities to more than 300 investors. The securities took the form of interests in multiple oil and gas partnerships. Douglas made multiple misrepresentations and omitted material information relating to the costs of drilling and refurbishing wells, his financial contributions to the partnerships, the involvement of related parties in transactions, and sharing of revenues with persons who solicited investments.
Simultaneously with the filing of the complaint, the Court entered a Final Judgment of Permanent Injunction with Douglas’s consent, leaving open the issue of monetary relief. On August 26, 1983, the Court entered another judgment by consent, directing Douglas to disgorge $200,000 under a three-year payment plan. The deadline for the final payment was August 26, 1986. From 1984 to 1986, Douglas missed two out of the three installment deadlines and paid only $121,975.29 of the $200,000, leaving an unpaid balance of $78,024.71.
On August 8, 1988, this Court found Douglas in contempt of the three-year payment plan. The amount Douglas paid, plus $20,000 frozen in the related lawsuit, SEC v. James R. Crawford, Case No. C 79-353 (N.D. Ohio), and accrued interest, was placed into a disgorgement fund in a court registry account. Total investor losses were estimated at $7.5 million. Two distributions, totaling $155,327.82, were made pursuant to Court Orders dated October 18, 1985 and September 26, 1988 (collectively, the “First Distribution”).
The SEC filed a motion for civil contempt on January 23, 2012. After an evidentiary hearing and briefing, the Court found Douglas in contempt and, on August 20, 2012, ordered the payment of the entire outstanding judgment of $78,024.71, plus post-judgment interest of approximately $1.78 million at the statutory rate of 10.74% from the date of the entry of the judgment in 1983. In December 2013, Defendant transferred $1.9 million to the registry of the Court, in full satisfaction of the outstanding judgment and post-judgment interest (the “Distribution Fund”).
Distribution Agent
On June 15, 2015, the Court appointed Kurtzman Carson Consultants, LLC (“KCC”) as distribution agent (“Distribution Agent”) to assist in overseeing the administration and distribution of the Distribution Fund in coordination with Commission staff, pursuant to the terms of the Distribution Plan.