SEC Charges Former Broker and Janues Capital Inc. with Multi-Million Dollar Investment Fraud Scheme
Former broker Surage Kamal Roshan Perera and his firm, Janues Capital Incorporated, have been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with defrauding at least one investor out of millions of dollars. The SEC obtained emergency relief in court, including a temporary restraining order and an asset freeze.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Perera falsely told an investor, whose name was not disclosed in the complaint, that Janues had access to specific restricted securities at discounted prices through connections with large institutional investors. He also claimed to have a trading strategy, which he called ‘Options Straddles,’ that would prevent any trading losses and guarantee returns of up to 9 percent with the potential for returns of 50 percent.
Perera and Janues allegedly misappropriated at least $3.5 million of the investor’s funds to engage in highly speculative and leveraged trading. Perera engaged in more than $2.5 billion in securities transactions, with nearly $3 million in trading losses, which he concealed by providing the investor with phony confirmations and account statements that falsely showed expected returns. He further attempted to hide the losses by using funds received from other sources to make Ponzi-like payments to the investor.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Perera and Janues violated antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Perera also was charged with aiding and abetting Janues’ alleged violations. The SEC’s litigation against Perera and Janues will be led by Kevin P. McGrath and Austin Thompson.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York also announced criminal charges against Perera in parallel action. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus interest and penalties.
Antonia Apps, Director of the New York Regional Office, said, “As noted in our complaint, Perera and his firm Janues engaged in predatory and fraudulent behavior by claiming to have special access to securities through their professional connections, but instead defrauded millions of dollars from his investor. We will continue to pursue individuals who prey upon retail investors and steal money from their clients.”
The SEC’s continuing investigation is being conducted by Austin Thompson and Christopher Ferrante of the New York Regional Office, and supervised by Hane L. Kim, Chief of the Retail Strategy Task Force, and Tejal Shah of the New York Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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