Big Trouble in Little Havana - SEC Investigating Marlins Ballpark Deal

[PowerBoater69]

One thing that puzzles me is exactly what the jurisdiction of the SEC is here.  The Marlins are not a publically traded company, hence they are not a filer with the SEC who is subject to review of their financial statements.  So who is harmed?  Obviously, the City of Miami and its citizens are harmed if poor decisions were made due to fraud.  Perhaps the bonds the city uses to raise money for the stadium or for other reasons are registered instruments and thus subject to SEC oversight, though I don't recall hearing of this sort of case before. 

I have a couple of former collegues who are now accountants with the SEC's enforcement division, I'll see if there's anything they can tell me.  It's possible they won't even be able to acknowledge the investigation exists.

Nice guess, the Miami Herald speculates along those same lines:

Neither subpoena said exactly what the SEC was looking for, though federal investigations into municipalities generally focus on whether bond holders were misled about finances while being enticed to purchase the bonds.

Two former SEC attorneys who reviewed the subpoenas for The Herald said government investigators are likely looking at whether the city and county did proper due diligence into the Marlins’ finances, and whether there was any influence peddling to local politicians.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/02/2529191_p2/feds-open-sec-probe-into-miami.html#ixzz1fWUEE5cp

[hammondsnats]

lerner + pay = 

[CALSGR8]

As much as the funding was fought over by the city council, I seriously doubt any were bought.  I agree with the assessment that our situation didnt see the collapse of real estate boom as quickly as it did.

Why do you think concessions cost so much?  Part of the deal was adding extra taxes to those items!

[PowerBoater69]

As much as the funding was fought over by the city council, I seriously doubt any were bought.  I agree with the assessment that our situation didnt see the collapse of real estate boom as quickly as it did.

Why do you think concessions cost so much?  Part of the deal was adding extra taxes to those items!

Every ballpark has taxes on concessions, DC taxes ten percent, high but not unreasonable.  The reason Nats Park prices are so high is because the Lerners take a higher share than any other ownership group.  When I get home I can try to dig up old articles on the subject.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I would imagine the muni bonds were sold publicly, and thus are securities.