MAN ACCUSED OF OPERATING A $60 MILLION INVESTMENT FUND FRAUD

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C., May 24, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged an investment adviser in Scotts Valley, Calif., with running a $60 million investment fund like a Ponzi scheme and defrauding investors by touting imaginary trading profits instead of reporting the actual trading losses he incurred.

The SEC alleges that John A. Geringer, who managed the GLR Growth Fund, used false and misleading marketing materials to lure investors into believing that the fund was earning double-digit annual returns by investing 75 percent of its assets in investments tied to major stock indices. In reality, Geringer’s trading generated consistent losses and he eventually stopped trading entirely. To mask his fraud, Geringer paid millions of dollars in “returns” to investors largely by using money received from newer investors. He also sent investors periodic account statements showing fictitious growth in their investments.

“Geringer painted the picture of a successful fund weathering America’s financial crisis through a diversified, conservative investment strategy,” said Marc Fagel, Director of the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office. “The reality, however, was the complete opposite. Geringer lost millions of dollars in the market, tied up remaining investor funds in a pair of illiquid private companies, and lied about it in phony account statements.”

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in San Jose, Geringer raised more than $60 million since 2005, mostly from investors in the Santa Cruz area. Geringer used fraudulent marketing materials claiming that the fund had between 17 and 25 percent annual returns in every year of the fund’s operation through investments tied to well-known stock indices like the S&P 500, NASDAQ, and Dow Jones. Although the fund was started in 2003, marketing materials claimed 25 percent returns in 2001 and 2002 – before the fund even existed. The marketing materials also falsely indicated a nearly 24 percent return in 2008 from investing mainly in publicly-traded securities, options, and commodities, while the S&P 500 Index lost 38.5 percent.

The SEC alleges that Geringer’s actual securities trading was unsuccessful, and by mid-2009 the fund did not invest in publicly-traded securities at all. Instead, the fund invested heavily in illiquid investments in two private startup technology companies. The rest of the money was paid to investors in Ponzi-like fashion and to three entities Geringer controlled that also are charged in the SEC’s complaint.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Geringer further lied to investors on account statements that falsely claimed “MEMBER NASD AND SEC APPROVED.” The SEC does not “approve” funds or investments in funds, nor was the fund (or any related entity) a member of the NASD (now called the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority – FINRA). Geringer also falsely claimed that the fund’s financial statements were audited annually by an independent accountant. No such audits were performed.

The SEC’s complaint alleges Geringer and three related entities violated or aided and abetted violations of the antifraud provisions of the securities laws as well as a statute barring people from claiming that the SEC has passed on the merits of a particular investment. The SEC seeks financial penalties, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, preliminary and permanent injunctions, and other relief. Geringer, the fund, and two of the related entities consented to the entry of a preliminary injunction and a freeze on the fund’s bank account.

The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Robert J. Durham and Robert S. Leach of the San Francisco Regional Office. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Sheila O’Callaghan of the San Francisco Regional Office.

The SEC thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and FINRA for their assistance in this matter.

TWO FLORIDA RESIDENTS CHARGED BY SEC IN ALLEGED MASSIVE PROMISSORY NOTE PONZI SCHEME

Photo:   American Alligator.  Credit:  U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service
FROM:  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C., May 22, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two individuals who provided the biggest influx of investor funds into one of the largest-ever Ponzi schemes in South Florida.

The SEC alleges that George Levin and Frank Preve, who live in the Fort Lauderdale area, raised more than $157 million from 173 investors in less than two years by issuing promissory notes from Levin's company and interests in a private investment fund they operated. They used investor funds to purchase discounted legal settlements from former Florida attorney Scott Rothstein through his prominent law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt and Adler PA. However, the settlements Rothstein sold were not real and the supposed plaintiffs and defendants did not exist. Rothstein simply used the funds in classic Ponzi scheme fashion to make payments due other investors and support his lavish lifestyle. Rothstein's Ponzi scheme collapsed in October 2009, and he is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence.

The SEC alleges that Levin and Preve misrepresented to investors that they had procedural safeguards in place to protect investor money when in fact they often purchased settlements without first seeing any legal documents or doing anything to verify that the settlement proceeds were actually in Rothstein's bank accounts. Moreover, as the Ponzi scheme was collapsing and Rothstein stopped making payments on prior investments, Levin and Preve sought new investor money while falsely touting the continued success of their investment strategy. With their fate tied to Rothstein, Levin and Preve's settlement purchasing business collapsed along with the Ponzi scheme.

"Levin and Preve fueled Rothstein's Ponzi scheme with the false sense of security they gave investors," said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC's Miami Regional Office. "They promised to safeguard investors' assets, but gave Rothstein money with nothing to show for it."

According to the SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Miami, Levin and Preve began raising money to purchase Rothstein settlements in 2007 by offering investors short-term promissory notes issued by Levin's company - Banyon 1030-32 LLC. In 2009, seeking additional funds from investors, they formed a private investment fund called Banyon Income Fund LP that invested exclusively in Rothstein's settlements. Banyon 1030-32 served as the general partner of the fund, and its profit was generated from the amount by which the settlement discounts obtained from Rothstein exceeded the rate of return promised to investors.

The SEC alleges that the offering materials for the promissory notes and the private fund contained material misrepresentations and omissions. They misrepresented to investors that prior to any settlement purchase, Banyon 1030-32 would obtain certain documentation about the settlements to ensure the safety of the investments. Levin and Preve, however, knew or were reckless in not knowing that Banyon 1030-32 often purchased settlements from Rothstein without obtaining any documentation whatsoever.

Furthermore, the SEC alleges that Banyon Income Fund's private placement memorandum misrepresented that the fund would be a continuation of a successful business strategy pursued by Banyon 1030-32 during the prior two-and-a-half years. Levin and Preve failed to disclose that by the time the Banyon Income Fund offering began in May 2009, Rothstein had already ceased making payments on a majority of the prior settlements Levin and his entities had purchased. They also failed to inform investors that Levin's ability to recover his prior investments from Rothstein was contingent on his ability to raise at least $100 million of additional funding to purchase more settlements from Rothstein.

The SEC's complaint seeks disgorgement of ill gotten gains, financial penalties, and permanent injunctive relief against Levin and Preve to enjoin them from future violations of the federal securities laws.

The SEC's investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by senior counsels D. Corey Lawson and Steven J. Meiner and staff accountant Tonya T. Tullis under the supervision of Assistant Regional Director Chad Alan Earnst. Senior trial counsels James M. Carlson and C. Ian Anderson are leading the litigation.

The SEC acknowledges the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service.

SEC CLOSES DOWN PONZI SCHEME THAT TARGETED PERSIAN-JEWISH COMMUNITY IN LOS ANGELES CA

FROM:  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SEC Shuts Down Ponzi Scheme Targeting Persian-Jewish Community in Los Angeles

04/13/2012 03:30 PM EDT

Washington, D.C., April 13, 2012 –The Securities and Exchange Commission today obtained an emergency court order to halt an ongoing Ponzi scheme that targeted members of the Persian-Jewish community in Los Angeles.

The SEC alleges that for the past two years, Shervin Neman raised more than $7.5 million from investors by claiming to be a hedge fund manager. Neman told investors that his purported hedge fund – Neman Financial L.P. – invested in foreclosed residential properties that would be quickly flipped for profit as well as in Facebook shares obtained in private transactions and other highly anticipated initial public offerings including Groupon, LinkedIn, and Angie’s List. Although Neman promised investors exorbitant returns resulting from his investing acumen and access to pre-IPO shares of well-known companies, what they actually received was simply other investors’ money in hallmark Ponzi scheme fashion.

“Neman deceived members of his own community to raise money in this fraudulent Ponzi scheme,” said Michele Wein Layne, Associate Regional Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Office. “By exploiting investors’ trust in him, Neman was continually able to raise more money to pay back existing investors and finance an extravagant lifestyle.”

The Honorable Jacqueline H. Nguyen for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted the SEC’s request for a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against Neman and the entities he controlled.

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