SEC settles civil claim against Murphy, others at American Capital Investments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled its civil complaint against executives at American Capital Investments Inc., the Marina del Rey real estate firm that the SEC claims amounted to a "fraudulent Ponzi-like scheme."

But U.S. District Court Judge Consuelo Marshall has yet to decide whether to approve a sale of ACI assets negotiated by court-appointed receiver Richard Shaffer or to give investors another month to draft an alternative plan to hold on to the properties, in the hope of future appreciation.

The Shaffer-negotiated sale would return to investors about 15 cents for each dollar they invested. A decision is expected this week.

Federal authorities also have been investigating the case to determine what criminal charges, if any, should be filed against ACI officers, including President Stephen Murphy, who authored the book "One Up on Trump," among others. Many ACI investors were solicited by telemarketers to buy unregistered real estate securities because they bought Murphy's books.

Murphy publicized himself and his books by promoting himself as a former, alcoholic Vietnam veteran who made a financial comeback by investing in distressed real estate.

In the resolution of the civil charges lveled against Murphy by the SEC, Murphy agreed to waive any claim on ACI assets and was barred from ever acting as an officer or director of a public company, said SEC attorney Bill White. Murphy and the other defendants -- ACI Vice President Ken Sorensen and Richard Otto, owner of the telemarketing firm Adfin Corp. -- were enjoined from ever again violating federal securities law.

Murphy and ACI were ordered to repay the ACI "estate" $6.76 million, but the order was waived due to Murphy's inability to pay. Otto and Adfin were ordered to pay $1.63 million, but $1.31 million was waived due to inability to pay. Sorensen was ordered to pay $50,000.

Receiver Shaffer said he has been subpoenaed and interviewed by FBI agents, who also have copied ACI files, apparently as part of a U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation, but no criminal charges have as yet been filed in connection with the case.

Shaffer has proposed selling ACI's nine buildings for $24.3 million to JH Financial Group of Encino, with $20.8 million going toward paying off the properties' debt. The company's 200-plus investors still have about $12 million invested in the company.

At a court hearing last week, the investors presented the court with a study they recently solicited that concludes the property is worth about $29 million.

Investor attorney Tom Norminton said the investors want 30 days to come up with a plan that would include borrowing additional money on profitable property in Florida and using the proceeds to pay down debt on money-losing properties. The investors would then maintain ownership of the buildings and wait for property values to appreciate to a level at which they could recover their investment, Norminton said.

Shaffer maintained that it is "imperative they sell this property," since foreclosure is imminent on some of the buildings. If the property were foreclosed upon, the investors would lose any equity they have, Shaffer noted.