The U.S. and Securities Exchange Commission on Tuesday added more than a dozen relatives of Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly to a long-running securities fraud lawsuit against the brothers to bolster its efforts to collect some $300 million, Reuters reported yesterday. The amended complaint filed in New York federal court included the relatives as "relief defendants," which means they are not accused of wrongdoing but can be subject to civil claims. The filing was expected, as the SEC and the relatives continue to dispute whether hundreds of millions of dollars held in offshore trusts should be subject to collection. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin has said she will order the Wyly brothers' assets frozen at the SEC's request, including money previously transferred from the trusts to various relatives, despite objections from the family members.
