On June 2, 2010, the SEC filed a Complaint against a Florida man alleging violations of anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exhange Act of 1934 and Securities Act of 1933.
The Complaint alleges that “[f]rom no later than 2006 until June 2009, [the defendant] raised approximately $40 million in a Ponzi scheme affecting approximately 35 South Florida investors, many of whom were Hispanic. Using personal and family relationships while boasting of a successful track record in providing risk-free investments, [the defendant] lured acquaintances to invest substantial sums of money for puported guaranteed fixed returns. [The defendant] claimed the investments were collateralized by diamonds. [The defendant] also told some investors they were beneficiaries on his life insurance policy, but failed to disclose he had let the policy lapse. [The defendant] offered investments in no-risk oral loan agreements or written promissory notes issued in his name, which provided annual returns ranging from 18% to 120% to be paid inmonthly installments. [The defendant] falsely told investors the purpose of the notes was to support his jewelry businesses and provide financing to pawn shops…. In reality, Perez [the defendant] used new investor funds to pay prior investors rather than to finance his jewelry businesses or pawn shops….”
SEC v. Perez, Case No. 10-Civ-21804 (S.D. Fla.).
