The Constitutional Crisis: Ex Parte Orders Without Notice to Counsel

On May 16, 2022, the CFTC obtained an emergency ex parte order freezing all assets of Rose City Fund — without providing any notice to my legal counsel. This single act violated multiple constitutional amendments and set in motion a three-year legal battle that continues today.

What Is an Ex Parte Order?

An ex parte order is issued by a court based solely on one party's presentation, without the other party being present or notified. In civil cases, ex parte orders are reserved for genuine emergencies where prior notice would cause irreparable harm — such as a defendant about to flee the country with investor funds.

Why the CFTC's Ex Parte Order Was Unconstitutional

The CFTC obtained its emergency order without notifying my counsel despite the fact that:

1. I was not a flight risk — I had been cooperating with the CFTC's investigation for months
2. No investor had complained — Investigator Dasso later admitted under oath that no investor ever told her they did not receive their promised payments
3. The fund was operating transparently — 139 consecutive weekly investor updates with public blockchain wallet addresses
4. The assets were not at risk of dissipation — they were held in verifiable on-chain wallets

The constitutional violations include:

• 4th Amendment: Unreasonable seizure of assets without probable cause
• 5th Amendment: Deprivation of property without due process
• 6th Amendment: Denial of right to counsel at a critical proceeding
• 14th Amendment: Denial of equal protection and due process

The Receiver's Role

The court-appointed Receiver, James L. Kopecky, subsequently liquidated the fund's digital assets — despite 100% of investors opposing the liquidation. The Receiver's fees exceeded $500,000. The investors whose assets were being "protected" received less than they would have if the fund had been allowed to continue operating.

The Path Forward

The 7th Circuit is now considering whether the CFTC had jurisdiction to bring this case at all. If the court rules that Ethereum SPOT transactions are outside the CFTC's statutory authority, the entire enforcement action — and the constitutional violations it produced — will be exposed as an unlawful exercise of power.

I have documented every constitutional violation in my GAO complaint, my DOJ criminal complaint, and my CFTC IG complaint. All are available in the Legal Documents section of this site.