A federal judge has denied a request by the Securities and Exchange Commission to hold Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc.’s former Chairman Henry Yuen in contempt until he pays $12 million after he was found guilty of securities fraud last year.

Los Angeles District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer said the SEC’s push to hold the executive in contempt was premature. Yuen was found guilty of misleading investors and Gemstar’s auditors last May while he was chief executive of the Hollywood-based company. Yuen was also found guilty of manipulating financial data from 1999 to 2002 and was ordered to pay $22.3 million in fines and forfeitures of bonuses and profits.

An SEC lawyer said after the ruling that Yuen has made no effort to pay and has about $150 million in assets outside the U.S.

Gemstar two weeks ago reported a three-fold jump in profit and a 9 percent jump in revenues for its first quarter.

Shares in Gemstar were up 6 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $4.52 Tuesday on afternoon trading on the Nasdaq.