SEC Issues Investor Alert on False Claims of SEC Registration

The SEC Office of Investor Education issued an Investor Alert to warn investors of potentially fraudulent investment schemes involving individuals or firms claiming to be registered with the SEC.

According to the Investor Alert, a recent fraud case brought by the SEC, in which the defendants allegedly recruited investors by misrepresenting that their firm was "registered" or "duly registered" with the SEC and pointed to the firm's Form D filings to support the misrepresentation, exemplifies this threat. The Investor Alert states that a Form D filing has nothing to do with whether an individual or firm is registered with the SEC, and urges investors to check the background, including license and registration status, of any person attempting to sell an investment product or service.

See: SEC Investor Alert.See also: SEC v. Fleet Mutual Wealth.