U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 25950 / March 15, 2024
Accounting and Auditing Enforcement No. 4493 / March 15, 2024
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. and Imran Parekh, No. 1:23-cv-MSM-PAS (D.R.I. filed Mar. 13, 2023)
SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Defendant Imran Parekh for Accounting Violations
On March 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island entered a final judgment against Evoqua Water Technologies Corp.'s former division-level finance director, Imran Parekh, in a case the Commission previously filed alleging improper accounting practices. Evoqua is based in Pennsylvania and has a major division located in Rhode Island. Parekh is a resident of Massachusetts.
According to the SEC's complaint, filed on March 13, 2023, from at least the fourth quarter of 2016 through August 2018, Parekh, as the Finance Director of Evoqua's division based in Rhode Island, engaged in fraudulent accounting practices that resulted in Evoqua improperly reporting materially false revenue amounts in its financial statements filed with the Commission.
The final judgment, entered by consent, orders Parekh to pay a civil money penalty of $40,000, orders disgorgement of $5,489 plus prejudgment interest of $1,342, and bars Parekh for ten years from serving as an officer or director of a public company.
On July 10, 2023, the court previously entered a partial judgment by consent against Parekh that permanently enjoined him from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10(b)-5 thereunder; from aiding and abetting any violation of the periodic reporting provisions of Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-l, 13a-11, and 13a-13 thereunder; from aiding and abetting any violation of the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of Sections 13(b)(2)(A) and (B) of the Exchange Act; from knowingly circumventing an issuer's system of accounting controls or knowingly falsifying an issuer's books and records in violation of Section 13(b)(5) of the Exchange Act; and from violating Rule 13b2-1 of the Exchange Act by falsifying or causing to be falsified any books, records, or internal accounts. On July 10, 2023, the court also entered a final judgment by consent against Evoqua.
The case was handled by Kerry Vasta, Jonathan Allen, Peter Moores, David London, and Amy Gwiazda of the Boston Regional Office.