SEC Charges Son and Father-in-Law Who Targeted Church Members in $20 Million Fraud
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Brett Bartlett and his father-in-law, Scott Miller, along with their companies over fraudulent securities offerings that generated nearly $20.5 million.
Bartlett and Miller collected funds from at least 1,000 investors between June 2018 and May 2020. According to the SEC, Bartlett and Miller offered promissory notes, stocks, and fraudulent gold contracts through entities they owned, including Dynasty Toys Inc., The 7M eGroup Corp., Concept Management Company LLC, and Dynasty Inc. The SEC further alleges that Bartlett regularly touted his Christian faith and attributed his purported success to divine intervention when he solicited a large group of investors from a church in central Illinois.
In an effort to conceal the fraud, Bartlett and Miller made at least $11 million in Ponzi-style payments and sent nearly $21 million in bad checks to investors that were subsequently bounced, according to the SEC. Bartlett and Miller allegedly used at least $1.2 million to cover personal expenses, including vacations, entertainment, and payments for a luxury rental home. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement, and civil penalties.
Eccleston Law LLC represents financial advisors and investors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory and disciplinary matters.
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