Saying his offshore Ponzi scheme was on the verge of collapse but still collecting money, the SEC has charged a resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands with fraud.
Several international authorities assisted in the probe, the SEC said.
Daniel Spitzer, a U.S. citizen who resides in St. Thomas, was charged in the scheme. The SEC said the scheme netted $105 million and roped in 400 investors, dating back “at least” to 2004.
Spitzer is 51, and “desperate for money” to keep the scheme afloat, the SEC charged, describing him as a “purported fund manager.”
“Daniel Spitzer ran an elaborate Ponzi scheme that he disguised by moving investor money through a complex network of foreign bank and brokerage accounts,†said Merri Jo Gillette, director of the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office. “He deceived investors into believing that he was using a sophisticated investment strategy that didn’t really exist.â€
In an emergency action in Illinois, the SEC said the scheme was on the verge of collapsing and that Spitzer still was collecting money in March to prevent its collapse. Earlier, Spitzer spent more than $900,000 “in cash at the Wynn Las Vegas Casino,” the agency said.
“Since at least August 2009 and continuing through to the present, Spitzer has attempted to delay and avoided paying requested investor redemptions,” the SEC charged. “Spitzer is desperate for money and has continued to prey on victims.”
Spitzer was spending money at the casino in October 2009, even as he was delaying payments to investors, according to court filings.
Also named defendants in the case were these Spitzer-connected companies: Kenzie Financial Management Inc. of St. Thomas; Kenzie Services LLC of Nevis; Draseena Funds Group Corp., an Illinois corporation with offices in Clearwater, Fla., and Stateline, Nev.; DN Management Co. LLC of Nevada; Aneesard Management LLC, also known as Nerium Management Co. LLC of Nevada; Nerium Management Co. of Illinois; Arrow Fund LLC of Nevada; Arrow Fund II LLC of Nevada; Conservium Fund LLC of Nevada; Nerium Currency Fund LP of Nevada; Senior Strength Q Fund LLC of Nevada; SSecurity Fund LLC of Nevada; Three Oaks Advanced Fund LLC of Nevada; Three Oaks Currency Fund LP of Nevada; Three Oaks Fund 25 LLC of Nevada; Three Oaks Senior Strength Fund LLC of Nevada; and USFirst Fund LLC of Nevada.
Just three months ago, the SEC said, Spitzer railroaded an investor for $100,000 by telling the investor the money would be used “in one of Spitzer’s more conservative investment funds.
“Rather than invest in said fund, in April 2010, Spitzer used this investor’s money to make $9,492 in Ponzi payments to four other investors, transferred $27,102 to the First Bank of Puerto Rico, and paid $26,257 for third party expenses,” the SEC charged.
Assisting in the probe were the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Irish Financial Regulator, Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, Autorité des marches financier in France, the Ontario Securities Commission and the Financial Intelligence and Investigations Unit Attached to the Royal Anguilla Police Force in Anguilla, the SEC said.