SEC Bars California Advisor for $4.6 Million Client Theft and Falsified Filings
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has permanently barred Andrew Nash, a Santa Barbara-based investment adviser, from the securities industry after alleging he misappropriated $4.6 million from a client and falsified regulatory filings to cover up the theft.
According to InvestmentNews, Nash served as CEO, founder, and majority owner of El Capitan Advisors. According to the SEC’s complaint, filed June 4 in the Central District of California, Nash transferred over $15 million from a public company client’s accounts in breach of his fiduciary duties. The client, unnamed in the complaint, operates in a cannabis-related industry. Nash allegedly used $4.6 million of those funds to purchase a personal residence in Santa Barbara.
To conceal the theft, the SEC claimed Nash created fake bank statements reflecting funds still held at financial institutions. The complaint also alleged that Nash caused El Capitan to file materially false Form ADV reports in both 2022 and 2023, inflating the firm’s reported assets under management to over $3.6 billion and $7.4 billion. InvestmentNews reports that Nash actually managed less than $1 billion.
Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Nash agreed to a settlement.. The final judgment orders Nash to disgorge $4.6 million in ill-gotten gains, plus $791,000 in prejudgment interest, and pay a $3.5 million civil penalty. El Capitan Advisors was also ordered to disgorge $10.7 million, along with $1.8 million in prejudgment interest.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
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