UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Before the

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

Release No. 95805 / September 16, 2022

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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EXTENSION ORDER

The Division of Enforcement (“Division”) has requested an extension of time until June 

30, 2023 to submit a Proposed Plan of Distribution under Rule 1101(a) of the Commission’s 

Rules on Fair Fund and Disgorgement Plans, 17 C.F.R. § 201.1101(a).

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

Proceedings, Pursuant of Sections 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. HII and 

 

1

 Securities Act. Rel. No. 11084 (July 20, 2022).
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Southwell falsely told investors that HII held its insurance distributors to its high compliance 

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

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

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

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

distributor, Simple Health Plans LLC (“Simple Health”), which amassed the most consumer 

complaints. HII and Southwell 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 an interest-bearing account at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s 

Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and any accrued interest will be for the benefit of the Fair Fund.
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In its request for an extension of time, the Division states that additional time is needed to 

complete the fund administrator solicitation and appointment process, develop the distribution 

methodology, and prepare the proposed plan of distribution.

Accordingly, for good cause shown, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Division’s 

request for an extension of time until June 30, 2023 to submit a Proposed Plan of Distribution is 

granted. 

For the Commission, by the Division of Enforcement, pursuant to delegated authority.2

Vanessa A. Countryman

Secretary 

 

2

 17 C.F.R. § 200.30-4(a)(21)(i).