BULLETIN: Disbarred Attorney And Alleged Serial Fraud Pitchman Charged With Fleecing ‘Elderly Women’; James S. Quay Has Used At Least 3 Aliases And Some Of The Money Was Spent On ‘Membership At A Massage Spa,’ SEC Charges

An Atlanta man has been charged by the SEC in an alleged scheme in which two elderly women were defrauded through an entity with the confidence-inspiring name of “Trinity Charitable Solutions.”

The man’s name is James S. Quay — and the SEC described him as an unlicensed financial adviser, a serial pitchman for fraud schemes and a “convicted felon and disbarred attorney.”

Quay, for instance, pitched the $35 million Ponzi scheme of Robert Copeland, another attorney, the SEC said.

For good measure, Quay also pitched the Kenneth W. Burnt fraud scheme, according to the SEC.

In 2005, according to the SEC, Quay was convicted in U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas of filing a false tax return. He spent time in prison and was disbarred “as an attorney by the Supreme Court of Georgia and the Supreme Court of Texas,” the SEC said.

Quay is 50. The SEC also charged his brother: Jeffrey A. Quay, 44, also of Atlanta.

James Quay has used at least three aliases — Jim Quay, Stephen Quay, and Stephen Jameson — the SEC said.

In his most recent scam, Quay cherry-picked the elderly women from the ranks of the Burnt scheme and defrauded them again through Trinity Charitable Solutions, the SEC said.

But it gets worse: Trinity Charitable Solutions was a “sham limited partnership” Quay started with his brother, the SEC said.

From a statement by the SEC (italics added):

The SEC alleges that James S. Quay (Quay) and his brother Jeffrey A. Quay facilitated a scheme in which the women invested $560,000 with the understanding that they were investing in a covered-call equities trading program. The Quays created a sham limited partnership called Trinity Charitable Solutions (TCS) to purportedly operate the program. However, TCS never became a legal entity, and instead the Quays merely deposited the investors’ money in a Scottrade account and personally misused at least $180,000 to afford mortgage payments, lavish restaurant meals, and membership at a massage spa.

Part of the MO of James Quay was to “host free dinner seminars that target retirees in order to gain their trust,” the SEC charged.

He later held “consultations” with seminar attendees in his office while showcasing his  “legal diplomas, bar certification, and other professional licenses and certifications,” the SEC said.

But he “typically would not disclose to investors his criminal background, disbarment, and loss of professional designations and licenses,” the SEC said.

Without admitting or denying the allegations, James Quay has settled with the SEC, the agency said.

“The proposed final judgment orders Quay to pay disgorgement of $1,403,638.62 plus prejudgment interest of $179,118.78 and a penalty of $450,000, the SEC said.

Litigation against Jeffrey Quay is ongoing, the SEC said.

Read the SEC complaint.