Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Eisenberg
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:23-cv-00173
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In SEC v. Eisenberg, Judge Schofield granted the parties’ joint request to continue the stay of the civil case pending the criminal appeal.
The SEC and Avraham Eisenberg in 23 Civ. 503, as well as the parties in related civil matter 23 Civ. 173, whose civil matters are stayed pending the conclusion of the criminal case following the appeal.
What happened
In SEC v. Eisenberg, the court had previously paused the Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil securities-fraud and manipulation case while the related criminal case proceeded. A jury convicted Avraham Eisenberg, but the criminal court later vacated some convictions and entered a judgment of acquittal on another count; the government appealed.
The SEC and Eisenberg jointly asked the court to keep the civil case paused until the criminal appeal and the resulting criminal proceedings concluded. They said the appeal could affect whether the civil case should proceed in the Southern District of New York and might help resolve the civil matter without further litigation.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield granted the request. She ordered that both civil matters, docket numbers 23 Civ. 173 and 23 Civ. 503, remain stayed until the criminal case concludes after the appeal. The parties must submit joint letters and proposed case-management and scheduling documents within two weeks after that conclusion.
The detailed version
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Eisenberg · No. 1:23-cv-00173
- Lorna Schofield
- Aug. 4, 2025
Background
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil case against Avraham Eisenberg concerns securities fraud and manipulation. On March 13, 2023, the court stayed the civil case at the request of the United States Attorney’s Office, which had asked to intervene and pause the case while the related criminal case proceeded.
In April 2024, a jury convicted Eisenberg of commodities fraud, commodities manipulation, and wire fraud. On May 23, 2025, the criminal court granted Eisenberg’s motion challenging the sufficiency of the evidence for two convictions and vacated the commodities-fraud and commodities-manipulation convictions for lack of venue. The criminal court also indicated that it would enter a judgment of acquittal on the wire-fraud count, which it did on May 28, 2025. The government filed a notice of appeal concerning both decisions on July 22, 2025.
Request to Continue the Stay
The SEC and Eisenberg jointly asked Judge Schofield to continue the stay until the criminal case concluded after the appeal. The United States Attorney’s Office did not object. The parties argued that the criminal appeal could affect whether the civil case, which involves similar facts, should proceed in the Southern District of New York. They also stated that reinstatement of the commodities-fraud and commodities-manipulation counts could allow the parties to resolve the civil matter without further litigation.
Ruling
“For substantially the reasons stated” in the parties’ joint request, Judge Schofield granted the request to continue the stay. She ordered that both civil matters—23 Civ. 173 and 23 Civ. 503—be stayed until the conclusion of the criminal case following the appeal in United States v. Eisenberg, 23 Crim. 10. Within two weeks after the criminal case concludes, the parties in both civil matters must file joint letters, proposed civil case-management plans, and proposed scheduling orders. The clerk was directed to close the motion at Docket No. 22 and enter the endorsement in both civil matters.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.