over the United States Military's Global Positioning System. He later denied the claim. On February 15, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission revoked the 2011 conditional approval for further development of the LightSquared network, stating it would interfere with GPS signals. 2012 securities fraud charge On June 27, 2012, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed securities fraud charges against Falcone and Harbinger Capital Partners, alleging that Falcone "used fund assets [of $113.2 million] to pay his taxes, conducted an illegal 'short squeeze' to manipulate bond prices, secretly favored certain customers at the expense of others, and that Harbinger unlawfully bought equity securities in a public offering, after having sold short the same security during a restricted period." The short squeeze was performed by Falcone in relation to a series of high-yield bonds issued by MAAX Holdings. After hearing that a firm was shorting the bonds, Falcone purchased the entire issue of bonds. He also lent the bonds to the short-sellers, and then bought them back when the traders sold them. As a result, his total exposure exceeded the entire issue of the MAAX bonds. Falcone then stopped lending the bonds, so that short-sellers could not liquidate their positions anymore. The price of the bonds rose dramatically. The short-sellers could only liquidate their positions by contacting Falcone directly. In May 2013, he accepted an SEC settlement in which he and Harbinger agreed to pay a total of $18 million. Under the deal, Falcone would have been banned from operating as an investment advisor for two years. However, in a rare move, the commissioners overruled the enforcement staff and threw out the deal, forcing the two sides back to the bargaining table. Reportedly, SEC chairwoman Mary Jo White felt the deal was too lenient. Finally, on August 19, the SEC and Falcone agreed to a deal in which he and Harbinger admitted breaking the law. It was the first SEC settlement in years in which the defendant was required to admit wrongdoing; usually, defendants who accept SEC settlements do not admit breaking the securities laws. Under the terms of the deal, Falcone will have to pay a total of $11.5 million of his own money to settle the charges. He will disgorge a total of $6.5 million in illicit profits and pay $1.01 million in prejudgment interest and $4 million in civil penalties, and also accepted a five-year ban from the securities