2026-03-31 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 1,756 chars

SEC v. Brent David Willis, No. LR-26516, District of Colorado (Mar. 31, 2026) — Press Release

raw: Brent David Willis

Brent David Willis, No. LR-26516 (Mar. 31, 2026)

Caption
SEC v. Brent David Willis
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summary

Former NewAge, Inc. CEO Brent David Willis entered a consent judgment to resolve SEC charges of making misleading statements and selective disclosure, resulting in a $175,000 penalty and a five-year bar.

paragraph

Brent David Willis, the former CEO of NewAge, Inc., faced SEC charges for making false public statements and aiding selective disclosure of material nonpublic information between 2017 and 2019. The enforcement action alleged violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. To resolve the matter, Willis agreed to a $175,000 civil monetary penalty and a five-year officer and director bar.

narrative

The SEC secured a final consent judgment against Brent David Willis, the former CEO of NewAge, Inc., to resolve allegations of securities fraud. From July 2017 through April 2019, Willis made false and misleading statements via press releases, earnings calls, and interviews while also aiding selective disclosure under Regulation FD. The litigation addressed violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Without admitting or denying the allegations, Willis consented to a judgment that includes a $175,000 civil monetary penalty. Additionally, he is subject to a five-year bar from serving as an officer or director of a company. The judgment also imposes permanent injunctions against future violations regarding misleading statements and selective information dissemination.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
corporate-fraud (95%)
Court
District of Colorado
Outcome
settled
Civil penalty
$175,000
Entity
Brent David Willis
Classified corporate-fraud(confidence 95%). EDGAR detection: forms 10-K/10-Q/8-K· recall 56% / precision 8%. detection rule →
Statutes
Sections 17(a)(2) and (a)(3) of the Securities ActSections 17(a)(2) and (a)(3) of the Securities ActSections 17(a)(2) and (a)(3) of the Securities Act
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionBrent David Willis
Keywords
brent daviddavid williswillissecsecurities exchangefalse misleadingdavidsecuritiesbrentpermanently enjoinsexchangenewagefalsemisleadinginvestor

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 1
  • $175K $175,000 $100K–$1M
Entities 8
  • person brent david willis
  • company ceo of newage, inc.
  • person damon taaffe
  • person david nasse
  • person final judgment
  • agency sec's investigation
  • agency sec's litigation
  • court united states district court for the district of colorado
Triples 14
  • United States District Court for the District of Colorado entered final consent judgment as to Brent David Willis
  • SEC filed complaint on October 18, 2022
  • Brent David Willis was CEO of NewAge, Inc.
  • Brent David Willis made false and misleading public statements
  • Brent David Willis aided and abetted NewAge's selective disclosure of material nonpublic information
  • Brent David Willis consented to final judgment
  • final judgment enjoins Brent David Willis from violating Sections 17(a)(2) and (a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933
  • final judgment enjoins Brent David Willis from aiding and abetting violations of Section 13(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Regulation FD
  • final judgment orders Brent David Willis to pay a civil monetary penalty of $175,000
  • final judgment imposes five-year officer and director bar against Brent David Willis
  • Damon Taaffe led SEC's litigation
  • David Nasse supervised Damon Taaffe
  • James Bresnicky and Edward Gerard conducted SEC's investigation
  • J. Lee Buck, II and Pei Y. Chung supervised SEC's investigation
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Plaintiff, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”), alleges as · Source
Text layers
Extracted body text (1,756c) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26516 / March 31, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. Brent David Willis., 22-cv-02744 (D. Colo. filed Oct. 18, 2022)SEC Obtains Consent Judgment as to Former CEO of NewAge, Inc.On March 25, 2026, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado entered a final consent judgment as to Brent David Willis in the SEC’s civil enforcement action against him.The SEC’s complaint, filed on October 18, 2022, alleged that from approximately July 2017 through April 2019, Willis, while CEO of NewAge, Inc., made numerous false and misleading public statements in press releases, earnings calls, investor conferences, and interviews, and aided and abetted NewAge’s selective disclosure of material nonpublic information.Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, Willis consented to a final judgment that: (1) permanently enjoins him from violating Sections 17(a)(2) and (a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 by, directly or indirectly, making any false or misleading statement, or disseminating any false or misleading documents, materials, or information, concerning matters relating to a decision by an investor or prospective investor to buy or sell securities of any company; (2) permanently enjoins him from aiding and abetting violations of Section 13(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Regulation FD; (3) orders him to pay a civil monetary penalty of $175,000; and (4) imposes a five-year officer and director bar against him.The SEC’s litigation was led by Damon Taaffe under the supervision of David Nasse. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by James Bresnicky and Edward Gerard, and supervised by J. Lee Buck, II and Pei Y. Chung.
OCR text (1,756c · html-text · 99% conf) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26516 / March 31, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. Brent David Willis., 22-cv-02744 (D. Colo. filed Oct. 18, 2022)SEC Obtains Consent Judgment as to Former CEO of NewAge, Inc.On March 25, 2026, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado entered a final consent judgment as to Brent David Willis in the SEC’s civil enforcement action against him.The SEC’s complaint, filed on October 18, 2022, alleged that from approximately July 2017 through April 2019, Willis, while CEO of NewAge, Inc., made numerous false and misleading public statements in press releases, earnings calls, investor conferences, and interviews, and aided and abetted NewAge’s selective disclosure of material nonpublic information.Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, Willis consented to a final judgment that: (1) permanently enjoins him from violating Sections 17(a)(2) and (a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 by, directly or indirectly, making any false or misleading statement, or disseminating any false or misleading documents, materials, or information, concerning matters relating to a decision by an investor or prospective investor to buy or sell securities of any company; (2) permanently enjoins him from aiding and abetting violations of Section 13(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Regulation FD; (3) orders him to pay a civil monetary penalty of $175,000; and (4) imposes a five-year officer and director bar against him.The SEC’s litigation was led by Damon Taaffe under the supervision of David Nasse. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by James Bresnicky and Edward Gerard, and supervised by J. Lee Buck, II and Pei Y. Chung.

Related documents (1)