SEC Charges Investment Adviser COO for Overbilling Clients

The SEC charged the former chief operating officer ("COO") of a registered investment adviser for allegedly overbilling the firm's clients.

According to the Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the former COO allegedly stole roughly $6 million from the investment adviser. The SEC alleged that as part of the fraudulent scheme, the former COO misused his role as the investment adviser's COO to overbill clients approximately $750,000 over the course of seven years.

The COO was charged with aiding and abetting the investment adviser's violations of the antifraud provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940. The SEC requested that the Court enter a judgment ordering the former COO to, among other things, disgorge all ill-gotten gains and pay a civil monetary penalty.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York also announced charges against the former COO.