Two former directors of US-based firm Woodbridge Group of Companies have been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for fraud.
Ivan Acevedo and Dane Roseman were arrested for their roles in the company’s “massive” Ponzi scheme. According to the SEC, the two former directors were responsible for fraudulently raising at least $1.2bn (£915m, €1bn) from nearly 8,500 investors.
In addition, they received around $3m in transaction-based as well as other types of compensation.
The complaint received by the SEC alleges that Acevedo supervised Woodbridge’s fundraisers between 2012 and 2015, when he left the firm. He was then succeeded by Roseman.
Producing and selling fraud
They were both responsible for hiring and training the company’s sales team and producing fraudulent marketing material promoting Woodbridge as a legitimate operation, when, in reality, it was a Ponzi scheme, the complaint said.
“Instead of telling investors the truth – that Woodbridge’s third-party lending business was a sham almost from inception – we allege that Acevedo and Roseman worked diligently to perpetuate this sham by preparing and disseminating false marketing materials to induce more investments, keeping this massive Ponzi scheme afloat,” said Eric Bustillo, director of the SEC’s Miami regional office.
“The SEC is committed to continue to hold responsible parties accountable in this far-reaching scheme.”
In January, Woodbridge was sentenced to pay $1bn in penalties by a federal court in Florida.
