The SEC complaint alleged that SQN overstated the value of its equipment leasing funds by failing to adjust carrying values following the pandemic. Silkowski maintains that these valuations reflected ongoing efforts to secure exit opportunities, including a failed $200 million roll-up transaction and attempts to sell portfolios to insurance companies. While the firm provided cash distributions to investors, it ultimately lacked the capital to sustain both fund operations and a protracted regulatory defense.

Silkowski noted that the decision to settle prioritizes the eventual liquidation of the funds over further legal conflict. Though the SEC characterized the firm’s regulatory history as recidivist, the firm attributed past issues to a dispute with a former service provider that withheld critical records. Under the new arrangement, SQN will write off outstanding contributions and cooperate with the court-appointed receiver to close the funds. The settlement contains no admission of wrongdoing, and the firm asserts that no investor was materially disadvantaged by the information provided during the period of illiquidity.