2023-09-26 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 2,341 chars

SEC v. The Diamond Desk Corporation; and Adam J. Lowe, No. LR-25852, Southern District of Florida (Sept. 26, 2023) — Press Release

raw: The Diamond Desk Corporation; Adam J. Lowe

The Diamond Desk Corporation; Adam J. Lowe, No. LR-25852 (Sept. 26, 2023)

Caption
SEC v. The Diamond Desk Corporation, et al.
summary

The SEC charged The Diamond Desk Corporation and Adam J. Lowe for a $2.2 million diamond investment fraud that misappropriated $924,000 for personal expenses and gambling.

paragraph

The SEC charged The Diamond Desk Corporation and its principal, Adam J. Lowe, with orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that raised approximately $2.2 million from at least nine investors. The defendants allegedly promised returns of up to 27% through diamond resales but misappropriated at least $924,000 for Lowe's personal expenses and gambling. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil penalties, and an officer-and-director bar against Lowe.

narrative

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged The Diamond Desk Corporation and its sole owner, Adam J. Lowe, with operating a fraudulent securities offering involving natural fancy color diamonds. Between February 2018 and February 2019, the defendants allegedly raised approximately $2.2 million from at least nine investors by promising returns of up to 27% plus principal. Instead of using the funds to acquire diamonds for resale, Lowe allegedly misappropriated at least $924,000 to fund personal expenses and casino gambling. The SEC's complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida, alleges violations of antifraud provisions under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Exchange Act of 1934. The agency is seeking permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of gains with interest, and civil penalties. Additionally, the SEC is pursuing an officer-and-director bar against Lowe.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
financial-fraud (95%)
Court
Southern District of Florida
Victim loss
$2,200,000
Entity
The Diamond Desk Corporation
Classified financial-fraud(confidence 95%). EDGAR detection: forms 10-K/10-Q/8-K/NT 10-K· recall 67% / precision 23%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionThe Diamond Desk CorporationAdam J. Lowe
Keywords
diamond deskdiamonddesklowesecuritiesdesk corporationadam lowesecurities exchangenatural fancyfancy colorcolor diamondsseccorporation adamexchange commissionexchange

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 2
  • $2.20M $2.2 million $1M–$10M
  • $924K $924,000 $100K–$1M
Entities 5
  • person Adam J. Lowe
  • person Brian Lechich
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • organization Securities and Exchange Commission
  • organization The Diamond Desk Corporation
Triples 8
  • Securities And Exchange Commission Charged The Diamond Desk Corporation And Adam J. Lowe
  • Adam J. Lowe Raised $2.2 Million From Investors
  • The Diamond Desk Corporation Offered Securities Involving Natural Fancy Color Diamonds
  • Adam J. Lowe Misappropriated $924,000 Of Investor Funds
  • Securities And Exchange Commission Seeks Permanent Injunctive Relief And Civil Penalties
  • Adam J. Lowe Violated Antifraud Provisions Of Securities Act Of 1933
  • Securities And Exchange Commission Conducted Investigation Christine Hernandez And Fernando Torres
  • Brian Lechich Leads Litigation Securities And Exchange Commission
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,341c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 25852/ September 26, 2023 Securities and Exchange Commission v. The Diamond Desk Corporation and Adam J. Lowe, No. 25852 (S.D. Fla. filed Sept. 25, 2023) SEC Charges Florida Company and its Principal with Operating a Fraudulent Securities Offering Involving Natural Fancy Color Diamonds Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Coral Springs, Florida company, The Diamond Desk Corporation (“Diamond Desk”) and its sole owner and principal, Adam J. Lowe, alleging that they raised approximately $2.2 million from at least nine investors through a fraudulent investment scheme involving natural fancy color diamonds. The SEC’s complaint alleges that, from at least February 2018 to February 2019, Lowe, on behalf of Diamond Desk, offered and sold securities in the form of investment contracts in Diamond Desk, and falsely told investors that Diamond Desk would use investor money to acquire parcels of natural fancy color diamonds to be resold at a profit and resulting in investment returns of up to 27% plus the full return of investors’ principal within 3 to 12 months. As alleged, Lowe did not use investor funds solely to purchase natural fancy color diamonds for resale as promised and, instead, misappropriated at least $924,000 of investor funds for his personal expenses and benefit, including to fund his gambling at casinos. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, charges Diamond Desk and Lowe with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and charges Lowe with control person liability under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and a conduct-based injunction and an officer-and-director bar against Lowe. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Christine Hernandez with the assistance of supervisory accountant Fernando Torres and supervised by Sean O’Neill and Glenn Gordon in the Miami Regional Office. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Brian Lechich with assistance from Christine Hernandez and supervised by Teresa Verges. SEC Complaint
OCR text (2,341c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 25852/ September 26, 2023 Securities and Exchange Commission v. The Diamond Desk Corporation and Adam J. Lowe, No. 25852 (S.D. Fla. filed Sept. 25, 2023) SEC Charges Florida Company and its Principal with Operating a Fraudulent Securities Offering Involving Natural Fancy Color Diamonds Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Coral Springs, Florida company, The Diamond Desk Corporation (“Diamond Desk”) and its sole owner and principal, Adam J. Lowe, alleging that they raised approximately $2.2 million from at least nine investors through a fraudulent investment scheme involving natural fancy color diamonds. The SEC’s complaint alleges that, from at least February 2018 to February 2019, Lowe, on behalf of Diamond Desk, offered and sold securities in the form of investment contracts in Diamond Desk, and falsely told investors that Diamond Desk would use investor money to acquire parcels of natural fancy color diamonds to be resold at a profit and resulting in investment returns of up to 27% plus the full return of investors’ principal within 3 to 12 months. As alleged, Lowe did not use investor funds solely to purchase natural fancy color diamonds for resale as promised and, instead, misappropriated at least $924,000 of investor funds for his personal expenses and benefit, including to fund his gambling at casinos. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, charges Diamond Desk and Lowe with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and charges Lowe with control person liability under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and a conduct-based injunction and an officer-and-director bar against Lowe. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Christine Hernandez with the assistance of supervisory accountant Fernando Torres and supervised by Sean O’Neill and Glenn Gordon in the Miami Regional Office. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Brian Lechich with assistance from Christine Hernandez and supervised by Teresa Verges. SEC Complaint