The MMTLP settlement is a $3 million class action resolution in In re Meta Materials Inc. Securities Litigation, approved by a federal judge in May 2024, that paid shareholders who bought Meta Materials securities (trading under MMAT, TRCH, and MMTLP) between September 21, 2020, and December 14, 2021. Estimated net recovery came to roughly half a cent per share. The deal resolves fraud claims about the company’s business and its preferred stock dividend, but it does not address the December 2022 FINRA trading halt or the illiquidity of the Next Bridge Hydrocarbons shares that former MMTLP holders received.
What the Settlement Covers
The case was consolidated in the Eastern District of New York before Judge Carol Bagley Amon, with the Meta Materials Investor Group as lead plaintiff and Levi & Korsinsky as lead counsel.1Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse. In Re Meta Materials Inc. Securities Litigation Investors alleged that Meta Materials and its executives made false and misleading statements about the company’s business connections, product capabilities, and an SEC investigation, as well as the value of a preferred stock dividend that CEO George Palikaras publicly suggested could be worth $1 to $20 per share when internal bankers had estimated $0.03 to $0.83.2U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC Administrative Order, File No. 33-11292
The court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss on September 29, 2023. Even so, the parties reached a tentative deal by December 20, 2023, that also folded in a related Nevada state case, Denton v. Palikaras, et al. (No. A-23-878134-C).1Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse. In Re Meta Materials Inc. Securities Litigation Preliminary approval came on February 6, 2024, and final approval on May 22, 2024.
Of the $3 million cash fund, at least $2.85 million was to be paid by the company’s insurers. The released defendants included Meta Materials, George Palikaras, Greg McCabe, John Brda, and Kenneth Rice. Neither the company nor any individual admitted liability, wrongdoing, or fault.3Meta Materials Inc. Meta Materials Announces Proposed Class Actions Settlement No class members objected; 24 requested exclusion.4Meta Materials Securities Settlement. Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement
How Much Investors Receive
Plaintiffs estimated gross recovery at roughly $0.015 per share before fees. After attorneys’ fees of up to $1 million (one-third of the fund), litigation expenses of up to $60,000, and administration costs, the estimated net recovery dropped to about $0.00535 per share.5Meta Materials Securities Settlement. Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action
Individual payouts under the Plan of Allocation depend on when class-period shares were bought and sold. Distributions under $15 are not made at all, so smaller holdings produce nothing. Strategic Claims Services administered claims, and the filing deadline was June 5, 2024; that deadline has passed. The settlement notice warned that any appeals could delay actual distribution by “perhaps several years.”6Meta Materials Securities Settlement. Final Notice and Claim Form
What the Settlement Does Not Cover
The class period ends December 14, 2021, a full year before the FINRA trading halt. Losses tied to the halt, the cancellation of MMTLP shares on December 14, 2022, or the inability to sell Next Bridge Hydrocarbons stock after distribution are outside the release. Investors who bought MMTLP during the 2022 price run-up and held through the halt are not class members based on that activity.
The settlement also does not resolve the naked short selling allegations that dominate investor forums. FINRA has publicly stated it found “no evidence that there was significant naked short selling” in MMTLP, reporting that short interest fell from about 6.4 million shares in mid-November 2022 to roughly 2.65 million by December 12 — about 1.6% of shares outstanding — and that failures to deliver on December 9 totaled 215,238 shares.7FINRA. FINRA Response to Rep. Norman Regarding MMTLP Those factual disputes were never adjudicated in the class action.
SEC Enforcement Against the Company and Its Executives
Separate from the private settlement, the SEC announced parallel actions on June 25, 2024. Meta Materials agreed to a cease-and-desist order and a $1 million civil penalty, without admitting or denying findings that it violated antifraud, reporting, and internal controls provisions.8U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC Charges Meta Materials Executives With Securities Fraud The SEC alleged that former Torchlight CEO John Brda designed the preferred shares to force short sellers to cover, that the plan was never disclosed, and that a June 2021 at-the-market offering of 16.2 million shares raising $137.5 million was timed to capitalize on the resulting price inflation.2U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC Administrative Order, File No. 33-11292
The SEC also filed a civil fraud complaint against Brda and former CEO George Palikaras, seeking permanent injunctions, officer-and-director bars, civil penalties, and disgorgement from Brda. The case was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of Texas in November 2024 and remained active before Judge Sean D. Jordan as of late 2025, with the SEC demanding a jury trial.9CourtListener. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Brda The SEC has indicated a separate investigation into subsequent events remained ongoing.
Meta Materials Bankruptcy
Less than two months after the SEC actions, Meta Materials filed a voluntary Chapter 7 petition on August 9, 2024, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada (Case No. 24-50792). The company ceased operations, terminated all remaining employees and officers including CEO Uzi Sasson, and the entire board resigned. Christina W. Lovato was appointed as interim trustee to administer and liquidate the estate.10U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada. Meta Materials Mega Case Information The bankruptcy remained active as of early 2026, with adversary proceedings involving Nasdaq and FINRA.11PacerMonitor. Meta Materials Inc. Bankruptcy Case
Where Former MMTLP Holders Stand With Next Bridge Shares
Shareholders of record on December 12, 2022, received one share of Next Bridge Hydrocarbons common stock for each MMTLP share on a one-for-one basis, for a total of 165,472,241 shares distributed.12FINRA. Supplemental FAQ: MMTLP Corporate Action and Trading Halt Next Bridge is a private company whose stock is not traded on any public exchange, is not DTC-compatible, and lacks a CUSIP number or trading symbol, so shares cannot be routinely bought, sold, or transferred through brokerage accounts.13Next Bridge Hydrocarbons. Next Bridge Hydrocarbons Investor Information
On May 28, 2026, the SEC declared effective a Next Bridge S-1 registration statement covering 40 million shares at a stated offering price of $15 per share.14PR Newswire. Next Bridge Hydrocarbons Announces SEC Declares Effective Its S-1 Registration Statement The company’s investor page still confirms the stock is not DTC-compatible and not traded on a public exchange.13Next Bridge Hydrocarbons. Next Bridge Hydrocarbons Investor Information
Operationally, Next Bridge lost its primary asset when the Development Unit Agreement for the Orogrande Basin in West Texas expired at the end of 2024 and was not renewed. It retains minor producing well interests in the Midland Basin and Oklahoma and exploration prospects in southern Louisiana, along with participation agreements with McCabe Petroleum Corporation on an Imperial Gas Project and a Louisiana play, both contingent on capital. Next Bridge has stated it has no current plans to issue dividends of any kind.13Next Bridge Hydrocarbons. Next Bridge Hydrocarbons Investor Information
Ongoing Investor Litigation
Investor Jason Rolo filed a pro se lawsuit against the SEC, FINRA, and the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation in the District of Connecticut (Rolo v. Securities & Exchange Commission, Case No. 3:24-cv-02053), alleging regulatory negligence, manipulative trading practices, and constitutional violations. On March 9, 2026, Judge Vernon D. Oliver dismissed all claims without prejudice but granted leave to amend. Rolo filed a second amended complaint later that month, and the case remained active as of mid-2026.15Docket Alarm. Rolo v. Securities and Exchange Commission et al. It is not connected to the class settlement fund and has no bearing on payouts under it.