By Mike Schneider
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) --SeaWorld and two former executives on Tuesday agreed to pay more than $5 million to settle federal fraud claims that they misled investors about the negative impact the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" had on business.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed the complaint in federal court in New York as well as the proposed settlements, which are subject to court approval. The SEC's complaint alleged SeaWorld and former CEO James Atchison made misleading and false statements or omissions in SEC filings, earnings releases and calls about the documentary's impact on the company's reputation and business from December 2013 to August 2014.
During the first three months of 2014, Atchison sold stock as part of a trading plan he had entered into before that period, allowing him to avoid losses of almost $740,000, according to the complaint.
In August 2014, SeaWorld for the first time made a filing with the SEC that revealed the company was facing declining attendance following the movie's release. The company's stock price plummeted by a third and SeaWorld's stock was downgraded by analysts, causing an $830 million loss in shareholder value, according to the SEC complaint.
"The defendants should have known that the 'Blackfish' effect, if and when such occurred, would be material to investors," the complaint said.
Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, "Blackfish" chronicled the life of Tilikum, an orca that killed a SeaWorld trainer during a performance in Orlando in 2010.
In a statement, SeaWorld said the company neither admits nor denies the allegations under the settlement.
"The company is pleased to have resolved this matter and to continue to focus on delivering superior guest experiences, world-class animal care and rescuing animals in need," said the statement from corporate communications director Travis Claytor.
Online court records didn't show attorneys for Atchison or Fred Jacobs, SeaWorld's former vice president of communications.
Under the settlement proposal, SeaWorld would pay a $4 million penalty, Atchison would pay more than $1 million for a penalty and pay-back and Jacobs would pay $100,000 in pay-back.
Sean “Diddy” Combs seeks bail, citing changed circumstances and new evidence
Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a new request for bail on Friday, saying changed circumstances, along with new evidence, mean the hip-hop mogul should be allowed to prepare for a May trial from outside jail.
Lawyers for Combs filed the request in Manhattan federal court, where his previous requests for bail have been rejected by two judges since his September arrest on racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
He has been awaiting a May 5 trial at a federal detention facility in Brooklyn.
In their new court filing, lawyers for Combs say they are proposing a "far more robust" bail package that would subject the entertainer to strict around-the-clock security monitoring and near-total restrictions on his ability to contact anyone but his lawyers. But the amount of money they attach to the package remains $50 million, as they proposed before.
They also cite new evidence that they say "makes clear that the government's case is thin." That evidence, the lawyers said, refutes the government's claim that a March 2016 video showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend occurred during a coerced "freak off," a sexually driven event described in the indictment against Combs.
They wrote that the encounter was instead "a minutes-long glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship" between Combs and his then-girlfriend.
The lawyers argued that the jail conditions Combs is experiencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn violate his constitutional... Read More