SEC Seeks Contempt Order Against Trevor Cook; Minnesota Man Said To Have Bought Two-Person ‘Submarine’ With Ponzi Proceeds

Trevor Cook, the Minnesota man implicated with Christian radio host Pat Kiley in a Ponzi and currency-trading scheme that collected at least $190 million, already has taken the 5th Amendment in a civil case brought by the SEC.

The SEC now is seeking a contempt ruling against Cook, amid allegations he violated the asset freeze and receivership orders entered by a federal judge last month.

A hearing on the contempt allegations began Dec. 11, but was continued to Jan. 5. The SEC said Cook, whom investors said bought a submarine on eBay for $40,000 and used it to access a private island he bought in Canada, hid assets from the court “by using an undisclosed credit card to make thousands of dollars of retail purchases.”

Screen shot: Deposition in the Trevor Cook case.

Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis ordered Cook to surrender his passport.

The Star Tribune of Minneapolis – St. Paul, which finds itself covering at least three major Ponzi scheme cases in the state, reported that Cook bought “gift cards” after the asset freeze.

An attorney for the SEC argued that the gift cards smack “of money laundering,” the newspaper reported.

The gift-card purchases occurred after the asset freeze was ordered, the SEC said. The agency also alleged that Cook failed “to turn over assets to the Court appointed receiver, to repatriate assets held in foreign countries, and to produce an accounting of investor funds.”