JACKSON, Miss.–The state of Mississippi has filed a brief in support of a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC is sitting on $100 million owed nationally, some of that going to Mississippians, in settlement funds from a corrupt Morgan Keegan fund. The investment company overstated and misrepresented the value of certain mortgage backed investments during the housing collapse.
“Injured Mississippi investors have been stopped from receiving their own money by their own government. What we have is yet another example of the federal government not following its own laws at the expense of hard-working Mississippians,” said Miss. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann.
The settlement finished in June 2011 after a three year investigation by the state of Mississippi and the $200 million was set to go to victims; half distributed by the states and the other half by the SEC.
Once the funds were available the SEC was to have 60 days to send the money out but after two years Hosemann said there isn’t even a plan to do that for victims.
“We have had Mississippi investors die before they received the money owed to them,” said Hosemann. “Many of these investors are elderly and on fixed incomes. It is inexcusable they have had to wait over two years after the settlement agreement to receive their own money from their own government.”
He said there have been repeated requests for payment from his office, all four Miss. congressmen requesting distribution last year and the Miss. Attorney General all making a demand with no action taken.
“It is unconscionable to have come this far to have a federal agency bottle neck millions of dollars owed to Mississippi investors,” said Hosemann. “As a last resort, I find this lawsuit necessary and support this action to order distribution.”
An Amicus Curiae in support of the victims lawsuit has been filed by Hosemann in the U.S. District Court in Jackson and over 500 people nationally have died while waiting on their money.
