2023-09-19 sec-litreleases litigation_release 66 KB 3,510 chars

SEC v. Faiz M. Chowdhury; DTI Holdings, Inc.; and Quantum Age Corporation, No. LR-25835, Central District of California (Sept. 19, 2023) — Press Release

raw: Faiz M. Chowdhury, DTI Holdings, Inc., and Quantum Age Corporation

Faiz M. Chowdhury, DTI Holdings, Inc., and Quantum Age Corporation, No. 8:23-cv-01741 (Sept. 19, 2023)

Caption
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Faiz M. Chowdhury
summary

Faiz M. Chowdhury and his entities, DTI Holdings and Quantum Age Corporation, face SEC charges for a $25 million offering fraud involving misrepresented credentials and misappropriated funds.

paragraph

The SEC charged Faiz M. Chowdhury, DTI Holdings, Inc., and Quantum Age Corporation for orchestrating a multi-year fraud that raised over $25 million from more than 50 investors. Defendants allegedly violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 through material misrepresentations. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement, civil penalties, and an officer-and-director bar against Chowdhury.

narrative

The SEC filed charges against Faiz M. Chowdhury and his controlled entities, DTI Holdings, Inc. and Quantum Age Corporation, for a multi-year offering fraud that raised over $25 million from more than 50 investors. Since 2018, the defendants allegedly misled investors regarding high-tech nanotechnology assets and Chowdhury’s own academic credentials from institutions like Harvard and MIT. While claiming to fund groundbreaking technologies, Chowdhury instead used investor funds as a personal piggy bank for luxury items, gambling, and extravagant travel. The complaint alleges violations of federal antifraud provisions, specifically Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement with interest, and civil penalties. Additionally, the agency is pursuing an officer-and-director bar against Chowdhury in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
financial-fraud (95%)
Court
Central District of California
Case No.
8:23-cv-01741
Victims
50
Entity
Faiz M. Chowdhury
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 CommissionFaiz M. ChowdhuryQuantum Age CorporationDTI Holdings, Inc.John Libby
Keywords
chowdhurydtifaiz chowdhurysecurities exchangeinvestorssecuritiesqacallegesexchange commissiontold investorsalleges chowdhuryfaizholdingsincquantum

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 1
  • $25.00M $25 million $10M–$100M
Entities 16
  • person brian quinn
  • person brian vann
  • person Carolyn Welshhans
  • person civil penalties against defendants
  • person darren long
  • person dean conway
  • company dti holdings, inc.
  • person excessive cash withdrawals
  • person faiz m. chowdhury
  • person investor funds
  • person james carlson
  • person permanent injunctions against defendants
  • company quantum age corporation
  • agency sec complaint
  • agency sec investigation
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
Triples 33
  • Securities And Exchange Commission filed charges against Faiz M. Chowdhury
  • Securities And Exchange Commission filed charges against Dti Holdings, Inc.
  • Securities And Exchange Commission filed charges against Quantum Age Corporation
  • Defendants misappropriated investor funds
  • Defendants perpetrated multi-year offering fraud
  • Defendants raised over $25 million from more than 50 investors
  • Defendants engaged in scheme to raise money from investors
  • Defendants told investors they were investing in a global enterprise of groundbreaking start-up companies
  • Chowdhury falsely presented himself as Doctor of Science and physicist with degrees from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, and Johns Hopkins University
  • Chowdhury falsely told investors DTI Holdings, Inc. and Quantum Age Corporation were holding companies with numerous subsidiaries
  • Chowdhury told investors he would use their money to fund affiliated and subsidiary start-up companies working on graphene-based nanotechnologies
  • Chowdhury used DTI and QAC accounts as a personal piggy bank
  • Chowdhury made excessive cash withdrawals
  • Chowdhury funded extravagant trips around the world
  • Chowdhury transferred funds to various entities he controlled
  • Chowdhury purchased luxury items for himself and his family
  • Chowdhury indulged in gambling and leisure
  • Complaint charges Defendants with violating antifraud provisions of federal securities laws
  • Complaint alleges Chowdhury, Dti, and Quantum Age Corporation violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act Of 1933 and Section 10(b) Of The Securities Exchange Act Of 1934 and Rule 10b-5
  • Complaint alleges aiding and abetting violations against Chowdhury
  • SEC Complaint seeks permanent injunctions against Defendants
  • SEC Complaint seeks disgorgement with prejudgment interest against Defendants
  • SEC Complaint seeks civil penalties against Defendants
  • SEC Complaint seeks officer-and-director bar against Chowdhury
  • SEC Investigation conducted by Darren Long
  • SEC Investigation conducted by Brian Vann
  • SEC Investigation assisted by Dean Conway
  • SEC Investigation supervised by Brian Quinn
  • SEC Investigation supervised by Carolyn Welshhans
  • Litigation led by Dean Conway
  • Litigation led by Darren Long
  • Litigation led by Brian Vann
  • Litigation supervised by James Carlson
Text layers
Extracted body text (3,510c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 25835 / September 19, 2023 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Faiz M. Chowdhury, DTI Holdings, Inc., and Quantum Age Corporation, No. 8:23-cv-01741 (C.D. Cal. filed Sept. 19, 2023) SEC Charges California Resident with Multimillion Dollar Offering Fraud The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it filed charges against Faiz M. Chowdhury and two entities that he controls, DTI Holdings, Inc. ("DTI") and Quantum Age Corporation ("QAC") (collectively, "Defendants"), for allegedly misappropriating investor funds and perpetrating a multi-year offering fraud, raising over $25 million from more than 50 investors. The SEC's complaint alleges that, since at least 2018, Defendants engaged in a scheme to raise money from investors through a series of material misrepresentations and other deceptive acts. As alleged in the complaint, Defendants told investors they were investing in a global enterprise of groundbreaking, IP-rich, start-up companies, but misled investors about the assets, technologies, and finances of DTI and QAC, as well as Chowdhury's own experience and credentials. The complaint alleges that Chowdhury falsely presented himself in marketing pitches to potential investors as a Doctor of Science and physicist with degrees from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Johns Hopkins University. The complaint further alleges that Chowdhury falsely told investors that DTI and QAC were holding companies with numerous subsidiaries, each with intellectual property rights over a variety of technologies, when in fact the purported subsidiaries were not owned or affiliated with DTI or QAC, or were mere shell companies with little or no revenue, assets, or operations. As alleged in the complaint, Chowdhury also told investors he would use their money to fund a vast array of affiliated and subsidiary start-up companies working on game-changing, graphene-based nanotechnologies, including fast-charge batteries, cancer detection and treatment solutions, anti-counterfeiting devices, and snake-venom antidotes. The complaint alleges that, in reality, only a small amount of investor funds was used for business purposes and that Chowdhury used DTI and QAC accounts as a personal piggy bank, making excessive cash withdrawals, funding extravagant trips around the world, transferring funds to various entities he controlled, purchasing luxury items for himself and his family, and indulging in gambling and leisure. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, charges the Defendants with violating the antifraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws. Specifically, the SEC complaint alleges that Chowdhury, DTI, and QAC violated 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. The complaint also alleges aiding and abetting and control person liability violations against Chowdhury. The SEC's complaint seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against the Defendants, and an officer-and-director bar against Chowdhury. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Darren Long and Brian Vann, with the assistance of Dean Conway, and was supervised by Brian Quinn and Carolyn Welshhans. The litigation will be led by Messrs. Conway, Long, and Vann, and will be supervised by James Carlson. SEC Complaint
OCR text (3,510c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 25835 / September 19, 2023 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Faiz M. Chowdhury, DTI Holdings, Inc., and Quantum Age Corporation, No. 8:23-cv-01741 (C.D. Cal. filed Sept. 19, 2023) SEC Charges California Resident with Multimillion Dollar Offering Fraud The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it filed charges against Faiz M. Chowdhury and two entities that he controls, DTI Holdings, Inc. ("DTI") and Quantum Age Corporation ("QAC") (collectively, "Defendants"), for allegedly misappropriating investor funds and perpetrating a multi-year offering fraud, raising over $25 million from more than 50 investors. The SEC's complaint alleges that, since at least 2018, Defendants engaged in a scheme to raise money from investors through a series of material misrepresentations and other deceptive acts. As alleged in the complaint, Defendants told investors they were investing in a global enterprise of groundbreaking, IP-rich, start-up companies, but misled investors about the assets, technologies, and finances of DTI and QAC, as well as Chowdhury's own experience and credentials. The complaint alleges that Chowdhury falsely presented himself in marketing pitches to potential investors as a Doctor of Science and physicist with degrees from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Johns Hopkins University. The complaint further alleges that Chowdhury falsely told investors that DTI and QAC were holding companies with numerous subsidiaries, each with intellectual property rights over a variety of technologies, when in fact the purported subsidiaries were not owned or affiliated with DTI or QAC, or were mere shell companies with little or no revenue, assets, or operations. As alleged in the complaint, Chowdhury also told investors he would use their money to fund a vast array of affiliated and subsidiary start-up companies working on game-changing, graphene-based nanotechnologies, including fast-charge batteries, cancer detection and treatment solutions, anti-counterfeiting devices, and snake-venom antidotes. The complaint alleges that, in reality, only a small amount of investor funds was used for business purposes and that Chowdhury used DTI and QAC accounts as a personal piggy bank, making excessive cash withdrawals, funding extravagant trips around the world, transferring funds to various entities he controlled, purchasing luxury items for himself and his family, and indulging in gambling and leisure. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, charges the Defendants with violating the antifraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws. Specifically, the SEC complaint alleges that Chowdhury, DTI, and QAC violated 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. The complaint also alleges aiding and abetting and control person liability violations against Chowdhury. The SEC's complaint seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against the Defendants, and an officer-and-director bar against Chowdhury. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Darren Long and Brian Vann, with the assistance of Dean Conway, and was supervised by Brian Quinn and Carolyn Welshhans. The litigation will be led by Messrs. Conway, Long, and Vann, and will be supervised by James Carlson. SEC Complaint