Litigation Releases (Terrance P. Berland and David Michael Scalzo)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26675 / October 20, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Terrance P. Berland and David Michael Scalzo, No. 26-cv-02430 (M.D. Fla. filed Oct. 19, 2026)

SEC Files Settled Action Against a Former Officer and a Former Director of a Florida Photonics Company

On October 19, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed settled charges against Terrance P. Berland, former CEO and minority owner of Violet Defense Group, Inc., a now defunct Florida photonics company, and David Michael Scalzo, its former director and majority owner, in connection with their alleged misrepresentations concerning the company's projected revenues for 2021 and use of investor funds.

According to the SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, from at least April 2021 through November 2021, Berland and Scalzo raised approximately $13 million from 88 investors through a securities offering in the form of Class B shares in Violet Defense Group. As alleged, Berland and Scalzo negligently misrepresented that the company was on track to reach $15 million to $18 million in revenues in 2021 and that 10% of the funds raised from investors would be used for marketing and branding for its largest subsidiary, and, in securities purchase agreements disseminated to investors between August and October 2021, Berland and Scalzo gave false assurances that nothing had occurred that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse effect on the company's financial condition. As alleged, Berland and Scalzo should have known by August 2021 - but failed to disclose or correct - that these financial projections were inaccurate because the company's sales and royalty revenues had declined significantly, and by the end of August 2021, that more than 40% of investor funds were committed to a NASCAR team sponsorship.

Without admitting the allegations in the complaint, the Defendants have consented to the entry of final judgments, subject to court approval, which would permanently enjoin them from violating Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, and order each to pay a civil penalty of $100,000.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Brian Theophilus James, with assistance from Lina M. Fernandez and Brian Lechich, and supervised by Thierry Olivier Desmet and Stephanie N. Moot of the SEC's Miami Regional Office.