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SEC Charges Middlesex Mortgage Group and Masanotti with Running $5.9 Million Ponzi Scheme The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has alleged that unregistered investment adviser John A. Masanotti, Jr. (“Masanotti” of Darien, Connecticut and his company, Middlesex Mortgage Group LLC (“MMG”), with fraud in connection with investments that MMC induced from outside investors, totaling least $5.9 million, beginning in 2016. Many of the MMG investors allegedly liquidated securities they held in retirement accounts to invest in the fund. The SEC Complaint is accessible here. According to the SEC. MMC and Masanotti allegedly used investor money to make Ponzi-like payments to investors and also used some investor funds for Masanotti’s “extravagant personal expenses,” According to the SEC, Masanotti told investors that MMC would invest their money in foreign currencies, securities and initial public offerings, but in fact MMC appears to have made no investments on their behalf. After receiving their initial payments, Masanotti continued to deceive investors to perpetuate the investment scheme, including via payments that purported to be returns on capital invested, the SEC said. Over the course of the scheme, Masanotti allegedly used more than $3 million of Middlesex’s assets for his and his family’s personal benefit, according to the suit. The SEC accuses Masanotti of violating the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. A Ponzi scheme is a purported investment vehicle in which early investors in the scheme are paid funds from later investors, thus creating the illusion of legitimacy and solvency. Ponzi schemes are often doomed to failure once the perpetrator of the scheme can no longer pay out investors through newly raised money. Some warning signs that every investor should remain mindful of when vetting a potential investment and conducting due diligence include the promise of high returns with guarantees of little or no risk; overly consistent returns with little or no volatility in the in

14 Nov 2023, 4:30 pm by InvestorLawyers

Investors with questions about claims about non-conventional investments or concerns that they may have invested in a fraudulent scheme may contact Law Office of Christopher J. [read post]

Investor Lawyers Blog - https://www.investorlawyers.net/blog/

Week in Review

9 Nov 2023, 9:05 pm by Brian Connor

WHAT WE’RE READING THIS WEEK In a forthcoming article for the George Mason Law Review, Kent Barnett, a professor at the University of Georgia School of Law, and Christopher J. [read post]

RegBlog - https://www.theregreview.org/

Collection Highlights: The Many Lawbooks of Francis Hilliard

8 Nov 2023, 5:31 am by Nathan Dorn

Boston, Hillard, Gray, and company; New York, Halsted and Voorhies, 1835. [read post]

In Custodia Legis - http://blogs.loc.gov/law

Interview with Christopher Robinson, Esq. about VARA (The Visual Artists Rights Act)

7 Aug 2023, 1:01 pm by centerforartlaw

About Christopher J. [read post]

Center for Art Law Blog - http://itsartlaw.com

Early Edition: November 15, 2022

15 Nov 2022, 4:47 am by Emma Snell

The briefs were submitted to Judge Raymond J. [read post]

Just Security - https://www.justsecurity.org/

Carbon Taxes, Trade, and American Competitiveness

3 Nov 2022, 7:01 am by Kyle Hulehan

Key Findings Carbon leakage occurs when a climate policy in one jurisdiction leads to emissions-producing activity simply shifting to a different jurisdiction. [read post]

Tax Policy Blog - http://taxfoundation.org/blog/