U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26674 / October 19, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Robert Bernardi, Nihat Cardak, and Sunil Chandra, Defendants, and Daniel Bernardi, Diane Olson, and Jenifer Bernardi, Relief Defendants, No. 21-cv-08598 (S.D.N.Y. filed Oct. 20, 2021)

SEC Settles Litigation with Former CFO of Software Company Charged with Multimillion Dollar Fraud

On October 16, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a consent and proposed final judgment as to Nihat Cardak, former CFO of GigaMedia Access Corporation (Giga), a private software company, in the SEC's civil enforcement action against him.

The SEC's complaint, filed on October 20, 2021 in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleged that, between March 2018 and August 2019, Cardak and the former CEO of Giga raised more than $37 million from investors while repeatedly misrepresenting the company's financial condition.

Cardak consented to the entry of a final judgment, subject to court approval, that would permanently enjoin him from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; and order him liable for disgorgement in the amount of $210,400 with prejudgment interest of $17,231.02, which amounts shall be deemed satisfied by the order of restitution entered against him in a parallel criminal case, United States v. Nihat Cardak, No. 21 CR 616 (PGG) (SDNY).

The SEC's litigation was conducted by Melissa Armstrong, David Nasse, and Kristen Warden, with the assistance of Ashley Dolan Barrachina, of the SEC's Home Office.