Securities Fraud

September 18, 2023

Lyft Inc. will pay a $10 million civil penalty for its failure to disclose a board director's role in the sale of $424 million worth of private shares prior to Lyft's initial public offering. The director arranged for a shareholder to sell their shares to a special purpose vehicle, and then arranged for another investor to purchase the shares through the SPV. Lyft failed to disclose this information in its 2019 Form 10-K, depriving investors of critical information. SEC

September 12, 2023

Canadian resident George Stubos will pay disgorgement of $5,367,926 and prejudgment interest of $806,108 for his microcap stock investment scheme. Stubos gained control of several thinly traded microcap companies and then lied to investors, brokers, and transfer agents, and convinced them his stock shares were eligible to be publicly traded. In addition to not registering his sales with the SEC and failing to disclose his control over the entities, Stubos also engaged in market manipulation to create demand for his stock. In addition to the disgorgement and interest, Stubos is subject to a penny stock bar and is prohibited from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security other than for his own personal accounts. SEC

September 6, 2023

Ameritrust Corporation and relief defendant Beespoke Capital, Inc. will pay more than $20 million in disgorgement, civil penalties, and prejudgment interest for lying to investors primarily located in the Republic of Korea, telling them their investments would be used to purchase shares of a publicly traded company in the U.S. Ameritrust's CEO, Seong Yeol Lee, through a network of recruiters, solicited and received funds from investors, which he then deposited in his corporate and personal bank accounts, as well as bank accounts for three of his adult children. Lee in fact never applied for Ameritrust's exchange listing. In addition to paying the $20 million, Ameritrust is prohibited from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act. SEC

August 28, 2023

Impact Theory, LLC will pay more than $6.1 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty, for offering and selling crypto asset securities to the public in an unregistered offering. Impact Theory sold three tiers of non-fungible tokens (NFTs)--"Legendary," "Heroic," and "Relentless," which were ostensibly an investment into their business in which Impact was "trying to build the next Disney" which would provide "tremendous value" to investors. In addition to the $6.1 million, the order establishes a Fair Fund to return monies paid by injured investors, and Impact Theory will destroy all Founder's Keys in its possession or control and will eliminate any royalty Impact might otherwise receive from secondary market transactions. SEC

August 25, 2023

A whistleblower has been awarded more than $18 million for providing the SEC with information that launched an investigation.  According to the SEC, the whistleblower initially reported concerns internally before reporting to the agency.  Their assistance ultimately led to a successful enforcement action.  SEC

July 28, 2023

Thomas D. Renison and Timothy J. Allcott, co-founders of ARO Equity, LLC, were sentenced to 48 months and 30 months in prison, respectively, for lying to current and prospective investors about ARO's performance and for using new investors' funds to pay interest to older investors. For at least 3 years, and despite Renison being barred in 2014 by the SEC from associating with any investment adviser or broker-dealer, Renison and Allcott deceptively convinced investors to cash out their retirement accounts and invest instead with ARO, touting double-digit returns and zero downside, ultimately raising nearly $6 million from investors. ARO's investments began failing almost immediately, but Renison and Allcott continued to tell investors their investments were as safe with ARO as they were with a bank. In addition to their prison sentences, Renison was ordered to pay restitution of $6,098,198.30 and Allcott will pay restitution of $6,249,983.30. SEC

July 28, 2023

Summitcrest Capital, Inc., and its principals, Johnny Tseng and Kevin Zhang, raised approximately $19.8 million from Chinese-speaking investors in the United States and China, misleading them to believe the funds would be used to make real estate-related loans "to the general public" and the income from these loans would be used to make interest payments and return of capital to investors. Tseng and Zhang, through their entity SC Development Fund, instead used investor funds for loans to Zhang's many real estate development and contracting businesses. Summitcrest, Tseng, and Zhang are on the hook jointly and severally for $16.6 million in disgorgement and over $4.3 million in prejudgment interest. Summitcrest and Zhang are permanently enjoined from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act. Additionally, Tseng is barred from acting as an officer or director and will pay disgorgement of $60,000, plus $15,721 in prejudgment interest and a $414,366 penalty. SEC

July 12, 2023

The SEC has awarded a whistleblower more than $9 million for sparking an investigation and providing significant information and assistance.  According to the SEC, the whistleblower first reported concerns i­nternally, but after gaining no headway from multiple internal reports, made a report to the agency.  SEC