Jeremy Hogan, a prominent attorney within the XRP community, engaged in a discussion on X regarding the SEC vs. Ripple case. During this conversation, he provided valuable insights into the potential financial implications for the fintech company.
This exchange was prompted by a comment from fellow pro-XRP attorney John E. Deaton, who stated, “The people who’ve argued that the SEC got a 50-50 victory in the Ripple case are 100% wrong. It was more like 90-10 in Ripple’s favour. If Ripple ends up paying $20M or less, it’s a 99.9% legal victory.”
In his typical humorous fashion, Hogan compared his legal contemplations to resolving a marital dispute. He shifted to discuss the legal aspects surrounding Ripple. He also pointed out that the court had identified approximately $770 million in improper XRP sales to institutional investors.
The Blueprint for Ripple to Drastically Reduce the SEC Fine
Hogan delved into several crucial arguments that could work in Ripple’s favour. Citing the SEC v. Liu case, he emphasised, “Disgorgement is an equitable remedy, which means it should be ‘fair.’ In this context, ‘fair’ implies that it should be based on the violators’ net profits, not gross.” This suggests that Ripple might significantly reduce its liabilities by deducting legitimate business expenses from the total sales.
Further, he elaborated on the definition of “victims” in the context of disgorgement, stating, “As recently affirmed by the 2nd DCA, the amount of disgorgement must be ‘awarded for victims.’ ‘Victims’ refer to individuals/entities who suffered financial losses from an investment.” Hogan highlighted the unique situation where XRP’s value increased during the litigation, suggesting that this might indicate that XRP is not a security.
Another critical point discussed by Hogan was the jurisdictional reach of the SEC. He pointed out, “The SEC has to prove some nexus between the purchaser of XRP and the United States.” Therefore, sales to foreign entities without ties to the U.S. could be exempt from the SEC’s claims. Hogan remarked, “In other words, if Ripple sold XRP to a German investment company with no U.S. connections, the SEC has no jurisdiction over that sale. The ‘nexus’ question will be intriguing.”
Will More Details Be Given?
Regarding the SEC’s perspective, Hogan conveyed, “The SEC will rely on case law that suggests it doesn’t have to provide specific disgorgement damages. The SEC can offer the court an approximate estimate, and then the burden shifts to the defendant to prove otherwise.”
He also noted that the SEC might contest the inclusion of certain expenses in Ripple’s profit calculations, especially those related to legal violations. “These are the issues that the parties will be litigating in 2024,” Hogan argued.
In conclusion, he estimated a significantly reduced penalty for Ripple, stating, “In conclusion, $770 million is NOT going to be $770 million, but something much less.” In response to a community member’s question about the expected settlement amount, Hogan speculated, “There’s still a lot of litigation and information to come out, but if some of the numbers I’ve heard about are proven true, it could be under $100 million.”
At the time of this report, XRP was trading at $0.6703.
Read Also: Ripple Returns 800M XRP to Escrow After Releasing 1B Coins
