The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of an Appleton, Wisc.-based investment adviser charged with engaging in a kickback scheme and other fraudulent conduct involving six unregistered investment pools it managed.
According to the SEC's complaint, Wealth Management, Putman, and Fevola caused clients to invest in the pools throughout the period of May 2003 through August 2008, and Wealth Management claims to currently have approximately $102 million of its clients' assets invested in these pools. The SEC's complaint alleges that the pools' assets are largely illiquid, the reported values of their assets appear to be substantially overstated, and Wealth Management and Putman have been providing redemptions to investors based on likely overstated valuations.
The SEC's complaint charges each of the defendants with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, and Putman and Fevola with aiding and abetting Wealth Management's violations. In addition to seeking emergency relief, the SEC's complaint seeks permanent injunctions barring future violations of the charged provisions of the federal securities laws, disgorgement of the defendants' ill-gotten gains plus pre-judgment interest, and financial penalties from the defendants.
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