Tr?id=566623520170033&ev=PageView&noscript=1

SEC Bars California Advisor for $4.6 Million Client Theft and Falsified Filings

Posted on July 28th, 2025 at 11:37 AM
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.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, sec

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next
Quotes Bigger

If the regulators are after you, and are trying to make a case against you, and you are going to contest their allegations against you, make sure you have the best securities industry defense lawyers, Eccleston Law Firm. My case was spun into a combination of penalties including fines, cash settlements, CE courses and suspension. They were the best I have seen in action. When all was said and done, they had done their magic, my situation was negotiated and settled with a simple "letter of caution" and a case closed without action. It is the most important legal business decision you will ever make, make it Eccleston Law.

Rick R.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

1790867615 Law
October 1, 2026
Prosecutors Target Multimillion-Dollar Investment Schemes Involving Promissory Notes

Federal prosecutors recently pursued two investment fraud cases involving promissory notes that caused combined investor losses exceeding $25 million.

1790789328 Law
September 30, 2026
SEC Approves FINRA Overhaul of Outside Business Activity Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved FINRA's long-awaited overhaul of the rules governing outside business activities and private securities transactions by financial advisors.

1790700476 Law
September 29, 2026
Texas Investment Adviser Sentenced to 11 Years for $35 Million Ponzi Scheme

A federal judge has sentenced Siddharth Jawahar, who operated Texas-based investment adviser Swiftarc Capital, to 11 years in prison for running a $35 million Ponzi scheme.