2024-07-08 sec-litreleases litigation_release 64 KB 1,726 chars

SEC v. Evarist C. Amah, No. LR-26047, Southern District of New York (July 8, 2024) — Press Release

raw: Evarist C. Amah

Evarist C. Amah, No. 7:21-cv-06694 (S.D.N.Y. July 8, 2024)

Caption
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Amah
summary

The SEC obtained a final judgment against investment adviser Evarist C. Amah for defrauding members of the Grail Movement through a $700,000 fraudulent investment scheme.

paragraph

Evarist C. Amah was found liable for raising approximately $700,000 by making false statements about investment performance and concealing significant losses. The court imposed charges for violations of the Securities Act of 1933, the Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Amah was ordered to disgorge $10,000 in ill-gotten gains plus interest and pay civil penalties of $669,667.

narrative

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final judgment against investment adviser Evarist C. Amah for operating a fraudulent scheme targeting members of his religion, the Grail Movement. Amah raised approximately $700,000 by providing materially false and misleading statements regarding his investment performance. The court found that he consistently offered positive projections while failing to disclose serious losses he had incurred. As a result of the summary judgment, Amah is permanently enjoined from violating various antifraud provisions of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the Investment Advisers Act. The court ordered Amah to disgorge $10,000 in ill-gotten gains, along with $1,617.82 in prejudgment interest. Additionally, he was ordered to pay civil penalties totaling $669,667.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
affinity-fraud (100%)
Court
Southern District of New York
Case No.
7:21-cv-06694
Outcome
charged · 2021-08-09
Disgorgement
$10,000
Civil penalty
$669,667
Victim loss
$700,000
Entity
Evarist C. Amah
Classified affinity-fraud(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D· recall 58% / precision 2%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionEvarist C. Amah
Keywords
amahevarist amahsecurities exchangeexchange commissionsecuritiesinvestmentevaristexchangecommissionfinal againstinvestment adviserfellow membersmembers religionfinaljuly

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 4
  • $700K $700,000 $100K–$1M
  • $670K $669,667 $100K–$1M
  • $10K $10,000 $10K–$100K
  • $2K $1,617 <$10K
Entities 3
  • person evarist c. amah
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • person summary judgment
Triples 8
  • Securities And Exchange Commission obtained final judgment against Evarist C. Amah
  • Evarist C. Amah raised approximately $700,000 from his advisory clients using materially false and misleading statements about his investment performance
  • Court granted the SEC's motion for summary judgment
  • Court found Amah liable for fraudulently soliciting investments by consistently offering positive projections while failing to disclose the serious losses he consistently incurred
  • Court entered a final judgment permanently enjoining Evarist C. Amah from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1), (2), and (4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder
  • Court ordered Amah to disgorge $10,000 in ill-gotten gains, with $1,617.82 in prejudgment interest thereon
  • Court ordered Amah to pay civil penalties of $669,667
  • SEC handled the case by Derek Bentsen, Timothy Work, Eric Berelovich, James Connor, James Carlson, George Bagnall, and Stacy Bogert
PDF (from attached: judgment)
Text layers
Extracted body text (1,726c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26047 / July 8, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Evarist C. Amah, No. 7:21-cv-06694 (KMK) (S.D.N.Y. filed Aug. 9, 2021) SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Investment Adviser Who Defrauded Fellow Members of His Religion The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it obtained a final judgment against Evarist C. Amah, an investment adviser, who was previously charged with operating a fraudulent investment scheme targeting fellow members of his religion, the Grail Movement. On August 9, 2021, the Commission charged Amah for running a years-long scheme through which he raised approximately $700,000 from his advisory clients using materially false and misleading statements about his investment performance. On September 28, 2023, the Court granted the SEC's motion for summary judgment. In doing so, the Court found Amah liable for fraudulently soliciting investments by "consistently offer[ing] positive projections while failing to disclose the serious losses he consistently incurred." On July 2, 2024, the Court entered a final judgment permanently enjoining Amah from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1), (2), and (4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder. The Court also ordered Amah to disgorge $10,000 in ill-gotten gains, with $1,617.82 in prejudgment interest thereon, and to pay civil penalties of $669,667. The SEC's case was handled by Derek Bentsen, Timothy Work, Eric Berelovich, James Connor, James Carlson, George Bagnall, and Stacy Bogert.
OCR text (1,726c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26047 / July 8, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Evarist C. Amah, No. 7:21-cv-06694 (KMK) (S.D.N.Y. filed Aug. 9, 2021) SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Investment Adviser Who Defrauded Fellow Members of His Religion The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it obtained a final judgment against Evarist C. Amah, an investment adviser, who was previously charged with operating a fraudulent investment scheme targeting fellow members of his religion, the Grail Movement. On August 9, 2021, the Commission charged Amah for running a years-long scheme through which he raised approximately $700,000 from his advisory clients using materially false and misleading statements about his investment performance. On September 28, 2023, the Court granted the SEC's motion for summary judgment. In doing so, the Court found Amah liable for fraudulently soliciting investments by "consistently offer[ing] positive projections while failing to disclose the serious losses he consistently incurred." On July 2, 2024, the Court entered a final judgment permanently enjoining Amah from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1), (2), and (4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder. The Court also ordered Amah to disgorge $10,000 in ill-gotten gains, with $1,617.82 in prejudgment interest thereon, and to pay civil penalties of $669,667. The SEC's case was handled by Derek Bentsen, Timothy Work, Eric Berelovich, James Connor, James Carlson, George Bagnall, and Stacy Bogert.