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"1) the Sponsors' sales staff failed to provide the offering plans to purchasers, 2) The Sponsors' sale staff made misrepresentations to purchasers, 3) The Sponsors' reservations agents failed to abide by the offering Plans for a "first come first served basis", and 4) the Offering Plan budgets underestimated bad debt expenses. The Sponsors have agreed to sell and give up their interest in TMC and pay back $6.5M over several years." The fact they admitted to the wrongdoing is a big deal, I think. From what I know of SEC enforcement actions, the SEC typically settles for some nominal amount, BUT the settlement provides enough proof so that a lawsuit filed by any aggrieved party (ies), can refer to the charges admitted and the suit has an excellent chance of winning. While this settlement does not involve the SEC, I think the pattern is similar. Moreover, I think the default position in most of the cases that are settled is for the defendant to settle without admitting any wrongdoing so the fact they admitted to the charges meant they believed they would lose.