Ponzi Perspectives

September was an active month for Ponzi litigation with nearly a dozen new complaints filed alleging fraudulent investment activity. The SEC continues to drive Ponzi-related litigation; in addition to four enforcement actions brought last month, previous SEC litigation precipitated several complaints filed by investors and court-appointed receivers. Consistent with the trends discussed in Ponzi Perspective’s

Notable litigation filed during August 2023 includes: (1) SEC v. Rocha; (2) Legum v. Garfinkel, et al.; and (3) SEC v. Conn. Jr.

SEC v. Rocha, No. 1:23-cv-11779-LTS (D. Mass.)

The SEC filed suit against the schemer defendant for losses arising from an alleged Ponzi wherein the defendant promised to invest the victims’ money in

Since 2021, McGuireWoods’ Ponzi Litigation team has been tracking and posting case alerts on Ponzi-related complaints filed in federal and state courts throughout the country and analyzed key decisions that have the potential to influence controlling law on Ponzi-related issues. The blog also posts practical considerations like effective defenses to dismiss Ponzi litigation and common

Notable litigation filed during June 2023 includes: (1) Bowman v. Unibank; (2) SEC v. Baston; (3) Hafen v. Guyon, et al.; (4) SEC v. Royal Bengal Logistics, et al.; (5) Decimal Capital Partners v. Benavente; and (6) Agri Capital v. Soberal, et al.

Bowman v. Unibank, No. 2:23-cv-00971-JCC (W.D. Wash.)

Ponzi victims filed suit against

Notable litigation filed during May 2023 includes: (1) SEC v. Bartlett; (2) SEC v. Griffin; (3) Warrow v. Turnipseede; and (4) Commodity Future Trading Commission v. Galles.

SEC v. Bartlett, Case No. 8:23-cv-00765 (C.D. Cal.)

The SEC filed suit against defendant schemers in California federal court for an alleged scheme run through a purported toy

Notable litigation filed during April 2023 includes: (1) SEC v. French, et al., (2) Gary Kennedy v. Ghap, LLC, et al., (3) Abanda v. OurBloc LLC, et al., (4) Sunrise NPL, LLC v. Easy Financial, LLC, et al., and (5) Joseph v. General Conference Corporation of Seventh Day Adventist et al.

Notable litigation filed during March 2023 includes: (1) SEC v. Woodard; (2) SEC v. Kaplan; (3) James Bay Resources Limited, et al. v. Lockett & Horwitz, et al.; (4) Miklos v. McNamara, et al.; and (5) Scura, et al. v. Heppner, et al.

SEC v. Woodard, Civ. No. 1:23-cv-00112 (D. HI.).

The SEC filed suit

McGuireWoods’ Ponzi Litigation team launched its Ponzi Perspectives blog in early 2021. Since that time, we’ve posted detailed case alerts of Ponzi-related complaints filed throughout the country and posted key decisions that have the potential to influence controlling law on Ponzi-related issues involving financial institutions. This 2022 year-end round up summarizes the cases and opinions analyzed