Nihat Cardak, the former chief financial officer of GigaMedia Access Corporation, has agreed to settle Securities and Exchange Commission fraud charges tied to a $37 million investor raise. Regulators say Cardak and the software company’s former chief executive repeatedly misstated the firm’s financial condition while raising money from investors between March 2018 and August 2019.
The SEC filed his consent and a proposed final judgment on October 16, 2026, in federal court in Manhattan. The litigation release followed on October 19.
What happened in the GigaMedia case
The SEC sued Cardak, Robert Bernardi, and Sunil Chandra in October 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, case number 21-cv-08598. The complaint alleges that during the raise, Cardak and GigaMedia’s former chief executive made repeated misrepresentations about the company’s financial condition.
Giga was a private software company. Investors had no public filings to check and no exchange listing to price their shares against. They relied on what the executives told them.
Key terms of the Cardak settlement
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Litigation release | LR-26674, issued October 19, 2026 |
| Case | SEC v. Bernardi, Cardak, and Chandra, No. 21-cv-08598 (S.D.N.Y.) |
| Alleged conduct period | March 2018 through August 2019 |
| Amount raised | More than $37 million |
| Disgorgement | $210,400 |
| Prejudgment interest | $17,231.02 |
| Injunctions | Securities Act Section 17(a); Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 |
| Criminal case | United States v. Nihat Cardak, No. 21 CR 616 (PGG) (S.D.N.Y.) |
How the alleged fraud worked
Cardak held the financial officer’s seat at Giga, the position investors trust most during a private raise. The complaint alleges he and the former chief executive used that position to collect more than $37 million while the company’s real financial condition told a different story.
Private placements live or die on trust. When the numbers coming from the CFO’s desk are wrong, investors downstream have almost no way to detect the problem before the money is committed.
The parallel criminal case
Cardak also faced federal criminal prosecution in Manhattan. Under the settlement, the SEC’s disgorgement award will be deemed satisfied by the restitution order entered in United States v. Nihat Cardak, No. 21 CR 616.
That structure matters to victims. Recovery flows through the criminal restitution order rather than a separate SEC payment, so the criminal judgment is the document to watch.
Co-defendants settled earlier
Cardak is the last of the three named defendants to resolve the SEC’s claims. Robert Bernardi and Sunil Chandra settled in September 2026, and final judgments against them were entered that month.
The settlement remains subject to court approval. Cardak consented to entry of the judgment without a trial.
Red flags for private placement investors
The GigaMedia case fits a long line of private-company raises that collapsed after investors discovered the numbers were wrong. Several warning signs recur across these cases.
- Financial statements prepared by management with no independent audit.
- Revenue or growth claims that cannot be checked against third-party records.
- Pressure to commit funds before diligence can be completed.
- Executives who discourage questions about the company’s books.
What private placement investors can do now
Investors who funded GigaMedia or similar private offerings should collect every document they received. Subscription agreements, pitch decks, and correspondence containing financial representations all become evidence.
Victims of private placement fraud may pursue recovery through criminal restitution, SEC distributions, or civil claims. Each path carries deadlines, and waiting rarely improves a position.
Haselkorn & Thibaut fights for investor recovery
Haselkorn & Thibaut is a securities law firm founded by former Wall Street defense attorneys who shifted their practice to represent investors. The firm has recovered over $520 million for clients in securities matters and maintains a 98 percent success rate in resolved nontraded REIT cases. Attorneys are AV Preeminent rated through Martindale-Hubbell, designated as Super Lawyers, and hold a 5.0-star client review average. The firm operates on a contingency basis — no recovery, no fee.
Contact Haselkorn & Thibaut today
Time matters in investment fraud recovery cases. The earlier you act, the stronger your position. The firm offers a free case evaluation to assess your losses, review your account history, and explain your options under arbitration or settlement.
- Main Phone: 1-888-885-7162
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Offices in Florida, New York, Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina. Former Wall Street defense attorneys with 95+ years of combined experience. No recovery, no fee.
