February 3, 2016
Manhattan-based lending company, American Growth Funding II LLC (AGF), and its owner, Ralph Johnson, have been charged with fraud for repeatedly lying to investors purchasing high-yield securities. The SEC alleges that the defendants promised investors 12-percent annual returns, falsely claimed its financial statements were being audited each year, and concealed details about the deteriorating value of assets that could imperil full payment of returns to investors. The SEC also charged Portfolio Advisors Alliance, the brokerage firm that acted as AGF’s placement agent, and two of its executives, for allegedly continuing to use AGF’s offering documents to solicit sales of its securities when they knew that the documents were inaccurate. SEC
Tagged in: Misrepresentations, Securities Fraud,