SEC Charges Real Estate Investment Firm and Owner Over $100 Million Fraud

Posted on October 3rd, 2022 at 1:29 PM
SEC Charges Real Estate Investment Firm and Owner Over $100 Million Fraud

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Secured Income Group, Inc. along with its owner, Max McDermott, and its head investor relations representative, Stacey Porter, with fraud in a securities offering. The defendants raised $100 million between July 2017 and January 2021 from those who invested in the firm’s “Secured Debentures” offering.

The Orange County-based firm, at McDermott’s direction, informed investors that their funds would be pooled to make real estate loans secured by first lien positions on the underlying properties and that their investments were secured, according to the SEC. The SEC’s complaint alleged that Secured Income Group and McDermott departed from their intended business model, and subsequently misrepresented material details of the investment.

Secured Income Group failed to originate real estate loans and it additionally sold off millions of dollars of its loans along with the corresponding security interests, according to the SEC. Due to the change in course, the outstanding principal value of the firm’s real estate loan collateral had been substantially less than what it actually owed to investors. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgements and civil penalties against each defendant.

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, advisors, law, sec

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

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

March 2, 2026
FINRA Suspends Cetera Broker for Accepting $50,000 Client Bequest Without Firm Approval

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) imposed a $10,000 fine and a seven-month suspension on an independent broker for accepting a $50,000 bequest from a client without obtaining prior firm approval.

February 27, 2026
Eighth Circuit Rejects Emergency Injunction in Advisor Departure Dispute

A federal appeals court ruled against an advisory firm seeking immediate, injunctive relief after a team of advisors left with hundreds of millions in client assets.

February 26, 2026
FINRA Bars Former Cambridge Advisor After Refusal to Cooperate With Communications Probe

A former advisor affiliated with Cambridge Investment Research has been barred from the securities industry after declining to comply with a regulatory investigation, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).