Former Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman Steven Davis, former executive director Stephen DiCarmine and ex-CFO Joel Sanders leaving court in Manhattan during their initial criminal trial on Oct. 16, 2015. (Photo: Rick Kopstein/ALM)

Steven Davis, a former chairman of Dewey & LeBoeuf, has agreed to pay a $130,000 civil penalty in a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to newly filed court papers, the largest fine so far to come out of the SEC's case against five leaders of the now-defunct firm.

The SEC filed court papers Aug. 31 laying out the details of Davis' settlement, as well as the settlements with ex-finance director Francis Canellas, who has agreed to pay $43,178 in disgorgement and interest; and former Dewey controller Thomas Mullikin, who has agreed to pay $8,635.78 in disgorgement and interest costs.

If the settlements are approved by the court, the SEC will have wrung out of Dewey leaders about $216,815, including its settlement with former Dewey executive director Stephen DiCarmine. That deal, including a $35,000 civil penalty, was revealed earlier this year.

Still, the civil penalties and disgorgements are a small fraction of the fraud that the SEC initially alleged was at issue in the case.  At the same time that criminal charges were announced in 2014, the SEC alleged in a civil complaint that five Dewey executives and finance professionals facilitated a $150 million fraudulent bond offering by the law firm, which collapsed in 2012. The SEC alleged that Dewey leaders devised ways to artificially inflate income and distort financial performance, while claiming that the firm's private bond offering “seized on phony financial figures.”

Since the criminal charges were filed, however, only one former Dewey leader, former CFO Joel Sanders, was convicted by a jury. Sanders, who was disbarred as a result of that conviction, managed to avoid prison time and is currently pursuing an appeal. DiCarmine was acquitted at retrial, while Canellas and Mullikin reached plea and cooperation agreements with Manhattan prosecutors.

For his part, Davis in 2016 signed a deferred prosecution agreement. The deal requires him not to practice law in New York for five years and he was suspended from practicing before the SEC.

The SEC's settlements with Davis, Canellas and Mullikin still need court approval from Southern District Judge Valerie Caproni. In a letter sent Aug. 31 to Caproni, SEC attorney William Finkel said the settlements “would fully resolve the litigation” against Davis, Canellas and Mullikin and leave outstanding only the SEC's case against Sanders.

Sanders has reached a partial settlement with the SEC, contingent upon his pending criminal appeal in state court. Under that partial settlement, he is prohibited from serving as an officer or director of a public company and the possibility of a future fine against him is left open.

While the SEC case is winding down against the former Dewey executives, they still face a suit in an Iowa federal court by an insurance company that participated in the firm's 2010 bond offering. Aviva Life and Annuity Co. sued Davis, DiCarmine and Sanders in one case and Canellas in a separate suit for distributing false and misleading information regarding Dewey's financial condition. Both suits, as well as the SEC action, were put on hold during the criminal trials.

In court papers filed in July, the parties told the federal court in Iowa that they are “discussing a potential resolution” and proposed to update the court in mid-September.

Canellas' lawyer, Brian Maas, a partner at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, declined to comment on the SEC settlement, as did Mullikin's attorney, Kenneth Kaplan, who runs his own criminal defense firm.

Elkan Abramowitz, Davis' lawyer and a name partner at Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello, said his client is paying a civil penalty, rather than disgorgement, because “it was demonstrated” at the first criminal trial that Davis made less money after the private placement than before.

Abramowitz said Davis continues to live in London, where he is consulting for law firms about “aspects of legal practice.” He declined to specify other details about Davis' work. The former Dewey leader had previously served as a legal adviser to the United Arab Emirate of Ras al Khaimah.