UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

CASE NO. 20-CV-81205-RAR

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION,

Plaintiff,

v.

COMPLETE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 

GROUP, INC. d/b/a PAR FUNDING, et al.,

Defendants.

_______________________________/ 

ORDER FOR DEFENDANT LISA MCELHONE TO SHOW CAUSE

WHY SHE SHOULD NOT BE HELD IN CONTEMPT

THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Plaintiff’s Motion for an Order to Show Cause 

Why Defendant Lisa McElhone Should Not be Held in Civil Contempt (“Motion”), [ECF No. 

1729], filed on October 20, 2023. The Court having reviewed the Motion and the record in this 

matter, and being otherwise fully advised, it is hereby

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Motion is GRANTED as set forth herein. 

A party may initiate contempt proceedings by filing a motion requesting the court to issue 

an order to show cause why a party should not be held in civil contempt. Newman v. State of Ala., 

683 F.2d 1312, 1318 (11th Cir. 1982). “If the court finds that the conduct as alleged would violate 

the prior order, it enters an order requiring [the party] to show cause why [the party] should not be 

held in contempt and conducts a hearing on the matter.” Mercer v. Mitchell, 908 F.2d 763, 768 

(11th Cir. 1990).

The Court’s Amended Final Judgment as to Defendants Lisa McElhone and Joseph 

Laforte, [ECF No. 1451], required Defendant Lisa McElhone (“Defendant”) to disgorge 

$153,224,738.24 and pay a civil penalty of $21,850,000. Plaintiff argues that Defendant has failed 

to fully satisfy the Amended Final Judgment and provides the declaration of Assistant Chief 

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Litigation Counsel Michael Roessner in support. Mot. at 3. Plaintiff further maintains that 

Defendant is violating the Amended Final Judgment based on the representations she made in her 

Motion to Modify the Asset Freeze Order [DE 230] to Permit Defendant Lisa McElhone to Use 

Limited Funds Held in Bank Accounts Which Are Not Within the Receivership Estate to Pay Her 

Attorney Fees (“Motion to Modify”), [ECF No. 1721]. Specifically, Plaintiff claims these 

representations show that Defendant “knows of assets that can be used to pay part of the judgment 

but wants to keep those assets out of the hands of the SEC and the Receiver” and she is therefore 

“not using ‘all reasonable efforts’ to comply with the Court’s Order.” Mot. at 6–7.

Considering the allegations and evidence presented by the SEC regarding Defendant Lisa 

McElhone’s noncompliance with the Court’s Amended Final Judgment, it is hereby

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows:

1. The Motion, [ECF No. 1729], is GRANTED.

2. Defendant Lisa McElhone shall show cause why she should not be held in civil 

contempt for violating the Amended Final Judgment, [ECF No. 1451], by filing a written response 

to Plaintiff’s Motion on or before November 13, 2023.

3. The Court will hold an in-person hearing on the Order to Show Cause on 

November 27, 2023 at 10:30 A.M.

1

 The parties shall report to Courtroom 11-2, 11th Floor, at the 

Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse, 400 North Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida

33128.

DONE AND ORDERED in Miami, Florida, this 23rd day of October, 2023.

_________________________________

RODOLFO A. RUIZ II

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

1

 This hearing shall be held contemporaneously with the related hearing on the Motion to Modify, [ECF 

No. 1721], which has also been set for November 27, 2023 at 10:30 A.M. per [ECF No. 1732].

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