Firm Agrees to Pay $35 Million for Ponzi Scheme

Posted on April 2nd, 2020 at 1:49 PM
Firm Agrees to Pay $35 Million for Ponzi Scheme

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

Per the terms of a proposed consent judgment filed in New York Federal Court, International Investment Group LLC (“IIG”) has agreed to pay $35.2 million to resolve a case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  In the Complaint filed by the SEC, IIG was alleged to have run a Ponzi scheme going back to 2007.  The agreed upon penalty consists of $30.9 million in disgorgement and $4.3 million in prejudgment interest.

According to the SEC, IIG defrauded its customers for years by hiding losses in the Trade Opportunity Fund, the firm’s flagship hedge fund.  The SEC alleged that IIG inflated the value of defaulted loans held by the Trade Opportunity fund and created fraudulent documents purporting to show that these loans had been repaid.  According to the SEC, the proceeds that were supposedly received as repayment for those defaulted loans were then used by IIG to create new loans that the firm then sold to other clients. The SEC alleged that IIG sold at least $60 million “fake trade finance loans” as part of this scheme.    

IIG had previously agreed to have its SEC registration revoked and its assets frozen as part of this case.

The attorneys of Eccleston Law LLC represent investors and advisors nationwide in securities and employment matters. The securities lawyers at Eccleston Law also practice a variety of other areas of practice for financial investors and advisors including Securities FraudCompliance ProtectionBreach of Fiduciary DutyFINRA Matters, and much more. Our attorneys draw on a combined experience of nearly 65 years in delivering the highest quality legal services. If you are in need of legal services, contact us to schedule a one-on-one consultation today.

 

 

Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, james eccleston, ponzi scheme, sec, disgorgement

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