By Dr. Benjamin Ballout

On October 13, 2025, I filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan — Ballout v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Agency for Global Media et al., Case №25–13228. This is not a fight about politics. It is a fight about process, truth, and the rule of law.

I filed as a citizen, investor, and founder who has watched two federal agencies — the SEC and the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) — drift from their statutory duties into silence and opacity. The case also stands for the rights of the shareholders and employees of Enerkon Solar International, a renewable-energy company unfairly harmed by misinformation and administrative neglect.

A Pattern of Negligence and Narrative

In March 2021, a government-funded outlet, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), published a story filled with unverified claims about Enerkon Solar International. Within weeks, the SEC halted Enerkon’s trading — echoing the very language of that article.

RFE/RL, supervised and funded by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), is explicitly prohibited under the Smith-Mundt Act (22 U.S.C. § 1461–1a) from targeting or disseminating content to U.S. citizens or domestic companies. Yet it did exactly that — publishing a politically driven and factually flawed piece shaped by policy influences out of Washington, which in turn triggered regulatory harm against a U.S.-based issuer and its shareholders.

The SEC later acknowledged that it monitors “media and social-media sources” for market information. Yet when the information turns out to be false or incomplete, there is no corrective process, no accountability, and no statement to restore confidence years before falsely allege and attempted to obtain unlawful judgment while it’s currently in appeal court due to variety of legal violations.

My lawsuit cites the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. § 706), the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552), and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Together, these laws were written to ensure that federal agencies act with transparency, reason, and respect for due process. When those agencies rely on biased or inaccurate narratives — and then refuse to disclose the records behind their decisions — the rule of law itself is at risk.

Freedom of Information, or Freedom From Accountability?

Since July 2025, I have filed multiple FOIA requests seeking SEC and USAGM communications about RFE/RL’s 2021 article. To this day, both agencies have refused or consolidated those requests without producing a single responsive record. Under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6), that silence constitutes a “constructive denial.” I am asking the Court to compel production of the records and to enjoin the agencies from using taxpayer funds to target U.S. citizens or companies through state-funded media — a practice barred by 22 U.S.C. § 1461–1a (Smith-Mundt Act).

What the Complaint Seeks

The complaint does not demand monetary damages. It seeks declaratory and injunctive relief — in plain terms, a judicial order requiring these agencies to follow their own rules, correct the record, and protect the investors they serve. The filing names individual SEC attorneys who acted as officers of the Commission in proceedings that damaged shareholders and distorted market integrity.

This is not about vengeance. It is about governance. When a regulatory body can halt trading, cite a questionable source, and later pretend it never happened, every investor in America loses confidence.

Why Congress Should Care

The issues raised here go beyond one case. They reach into the heart of how Congressional oversight committees — particularly Oversight & Accountability, Financial Services, and Judiciary — ensure that the executive branch obeys its own boundaries.