Tilton posts video in defense of firm

Lynn Tilton, founder of Patriarch Partners, has taken to YouTube and Twitter to defend her firm in its “fight for truth” against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In what appears to be a prepared statement video posted on her personal YouTube channel and shared via her personal Twitter account, Tilton speaks out against the agency, which is planning to try a fraud case against Patriarch in its home court administrative proceedings. Tilton has responded with a countersuit, attempting to move the case to US District Court.

“My fight with the SEC is a fight for truth, a fight for a fair forum, a fight for my reputation, for the many companies that I lead and for my tens of thousands of employees,” Tilton states in the video.

The SEC assigned an administrative law judge (ALJ) to Tilton’s case, despite her lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of the appointment process for the commission’s in-house judges. ALJ Carol Foelek will preside at the administrative hearing, which is to be scheduled by May. Tilton is attempting to halt the proceedings before then by holding her civil hearing on May 11, according to a filing in Manhattan district court.

Tilton addresses the SEC directly in the video’s conclusion. “SEC, I’m not asking you not to fight, I’m asking for a fair fight and a fair forum,” she says. “This is really a David and Goliath battle and all I’m asking you is to play fair and put me in the right playing field.”

Last week, Tilton and her attorneys filed a motion for preliminary injunction – as well as two declarations and one memorandum in support of the motion – in a further attempt to stop the SEC from carrying out its administrative proceedings. Included in the filings was a report from Bloomberg, stating that SEC’s administrative action against Tilton was taken after a 3-2 vote among commissioners. The lack of unanimity, while not uncommon, shows that the SEC itself has divided opinions on the case.