UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Before the

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

Release No. 98416 / September 18, 2023

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING

File No. 3-20932

In the Matter of

Health Insurance Innovations, Inc., 

now named Benefytt Technologies, 

Inc., and Gavin D. Southwell,

Respondents.

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ORDER APPOINTING FUND 

ADMINISTRATOR, SETTING 

ADMINISTRATOR’S BOND 

AMOUNT, AND AUTHORIZING 

PAYMENT OF FEES AND 

EXPENSES

On July 20, 2022, the Commission issued an Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist 

Proceedings, Pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21C of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Making Findings, and Imposing a Cease-and-Desist Order (the 

“Order”)1against Health Insurance Innovations, Inc., now named Benefytt Technologies, Inc.

(“HII”), and Gavin D. Southwell (“Southwell”) (collectively, the “Respondents”). In the Order, 

the Commission found that from March 2017 through March 2020, HII, a technology platform, 

billing administrator and distributor of short-term and limited health insurance products, and its 

CEO Southwell made a series of false and misleading statements to investors, which concealed

extensive consumer complaints about products being sold through misrepresentations. 

Respondents falsely told investors that HII held its insurance distributors to high compliance 

standards, which prohibited insurance agents from making misrepresentations to consumers. 

Respondents falsely stated that HII had 99.99% consumer satisfaction and misleadingly stated 

1

 Securities Act Rel. No. 11084 (July 20, 2022).
2

that state departments of insurance received very few consumer complaints regarding HII. 

Respondents understated the amount of business that had been generated by its most productive 

distributor, Simple Health Plans LLC, which amassed the most consumer complaints. 

Respondents misrepresented that HII had terminated its relationship with a different distributor 

in 2016 for compliance failures, when in fact, HII re-hired this distributor despite continuing 

compliance problems. These statements were made in reports filed with the SEC, press releases, 

earnings calls and other communications with investors. Southwell also disseminated misleading 

information about HII’s compliance to research analysts and a subscription news service, which 

included the information in research reports and a news article that were distributed to investors. 

In total, the Commission ordered the Respondents to pay $320,000.00 in disgorgement, 

$41,511.00 in prejudgment interest, and $11,750,000.00 in civil money penalties, for a collective 

total of $12,111,511.00, to the Commission. The Commission also created a Fair Fund, pursuant 

to Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, so the penalties paid, along with the 

disgorgement and interest paid, can be distributed to harmed investors (the “Fair Fund”).

The Fair Fund consists of the $12,111,511.00 paid by the Respondents. The Fair Fund 

has been deposited in a Commission-designated account at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, 

and any accrued interest will be added to the Fair Fund.

The Division of Enforcement (the “Division”) now seeks the appointment of Epiq Class 

Action & Claims Solutions, Inc. (“Epiq”) as the fund administrator and requests that the 

administrator’s bond be set at $12,111,511.00. Epiq is a member of the Commission’s approved 

pool of administrators.

The Division further requests that the Commission authorize the Office of Financial 

Management (“OFM”), at the direction of an Assistant Director of the Office of Distributions, to 
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pay the Fund Administrator’s fees and expenses from the Fair Fund, so long as the total amount 

paid to the Fund Administrator, including the invoice to be paid, does not exceed the total 

amount of the approved cost proposal submitted by the Fund Administrator.

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

A. Epiq is appointed as the Fund Administrator, pursuant to Rule 1105(a) of the 

Commission’s Rules on Fair Fund and Disgorgement Plans (“Commission’s 

Rules”);2

B. Epiq shall obtain a bond in accordance with Rule 1105(c) of the Commission’s 

Rules,3in the amount of $12,111,511.00; 

C. the Fund Administrator will submit invoices to the Commission staff for services 

rendered, in accordance with Rule 1105(d) of the Commission’s Rules;4and 

D. at the direction of an Assistant Director of the Office of Distributions, OFM is 

authorized to pay the Fund Administrator’s fees and expenses from the Fair Fund, 

in accordance with Rule 1105(e) of the Commission’s Rules,5so long as the total 

amount paid to the Fund Administrator, including the invoice to be paid, does not 

exceed the total amount of the approved cost proposal submitted by the Fund 

Administrator.

For the Commission, by the Division of Enforcement, pursuant to delegated authority.6

Vanessa A. Countryman

Secretary 

2

 17 C.F.R. § 201.1105(a).

3

 17 C.F.R. § 201.1105(c).

4

 17 C.F.R. § 201.1105(d).

5

 17 C.F.R. § 201.1105(e).

6

 17 C.F.R. § 200.30-4(a)(17) and 17 C.F.R. § 200.30-4(a)(21)(vi).