Statement Summary
On May 19, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued final consent judgments against Kautilya “Tony” Sharma, Perian Salviola, and Pallas Holdings, LLC for involvement in illegal microcap securities offerings. This concluded the SEC’s 2019 lawsuit, which accused the defendants of selling securities without complying with registration requirements. The court granted the SEC’s summary judgment, confirming violations of the Securities Act. The defendants agreed to pay $5,396,629.54 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, alongside civil penalties of $90,000 each for Sharma and Salviola, and $500,000 for Pallas Holdings. Additionally, Sharma and Salviola are barred from participating in penny stock offerings for two years.
Original Statement
Kautilya (“Tony”) Sharma, Perian Salviola, and Pallas Holdings, LLC
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 26313 / May 23, 2025
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Joshua Sason, et al, No. 19-cv-1459 (S.D.N.Y filed Feb. 15, 2019)
SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Participants in Illegal Microcap Securities Offerings
On May 19, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final consent judgments against two individuals and their business entity that participated in illegal microcap securities offerings. Entry of the judgments resolves all remaining claims against the Pallas Defendants in the SEC’s February 15, 2019 complaint, which alleged, among other things, that the Pallas Defendants participated in the offer and sale of certain securities without a registration statement or any applicable exemption to registration requirements. On May 4, 2023, the District Court granted the SEC’s motion for summary judgment with respect to its claims that the Pallas Defendants had violated Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act.
Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, the Pallas Defendants consented to the entry of final judgments that order them to pay disgorgement of $5,396,629.54 plus prejudgment interest of $404,631.17 on a joint-and-several basis. The final judgments further provide for the following relief:
- Sharma is permanently enjoined from violating Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act, was ordered to pay a civil monetary penalty of $90,000, and is barred from participating in any offering of a penny stock for two years.
- Salviola is permanently enjoined from violating Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act, was ordered to pay a civil monetary penalty of $90,000, and is barred from participating in any offering of a penny stock for two years.
- Pallas Holdings, LLC is permanently enjoined from violating Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act and was ordered to pay a civil monetary penalty of $500,000.
The SEC’s litigation was led by David Zetlin-Jones, Eric Taffet, Daniel Loss, and Lee A. Greenwood, and was supervised by Sheldon L. Pollock, all of the SEC’s New York Regional Office.
