SEC Charges Pennsylvania Investment Adviser Scott Mason With Misappropriating More Than $20 Million from Advisory Clients
summary
Former investment adviser Scott J. Mason and his companies were charged by the SEC for misappropriating over $20 million from clients to fund personal expenses and have consented to final judgments.
paragraph
Scott J. Mason and his entities, Rubicon Wealth Management LLC and Orchard Park Real Estate Holdings LLC, were charged with misappropriating more than $20 million from at least 13 clients. Between 2014 and 2024, Mason allegedly used unauthorized transfers to fund personal costs like country club dues and a miniature golf course. The defendants face antifraud charges and have consented to final judgments, with specific penalties to be determined by the court.
narrative
The SEC charged former investment adviser Scott J. Mason and his companies, Rubicon Wealth Management LLC and Orchard Park Real Estate Holdings LLC, with misappropriating over $20 million from at least 13 clients. Between 2014 and 2024, Mason allegedly made unauthorized transfers to fund personal expenses, including country club dues and a miniature golf course. To hide the fraud, Mason forged client signatures and provided falsified account statements and tax documents. In addition to the SEC's civil action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced parallel criminal charges against Mason. The defendants have consented to final judgments that permanently enjoin them from future antifraud violations. The court will determine the final amounts for disgorgement, interest, and civil penalties at a later date.
Classified investment-adviser-fraud(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms ADV/ADV-E/ADV-W/Form D· recall 33% / precision 13%. detection rule →
Statutes
15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)
Parties
criminal charges against masongregory r. bockinnicholas p. grippoSecurities and Exchange Commissionspencer willigthe sec’s complaintthe sec’s investigationthe securities and exchange commission
Keywords
masonsecclientsorchard parkrubiconinvestment adviseradviser scottscott masonmisappropriating millionadvisory clientsrubicon orchardphiladelphia regionaleastern pennsylvaniapennsylvaniascott
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 1
- $20.00M $20 million $10M–$100M
Entities 8
- person criminal charges against mason
- person gregory r. bockin
- person nicholas p. grippo
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- person spencer willig
- agency the sec’s complaint
- agency the sec’s investigation
- agency the securities and exchange commission
Triples 16
- The Securities and Exchange Commission charged former Pennsylvania-based investment adviser Scott J. Mason, and his companies Rubicon Wealth Management LLC and Orchard Park Real Estate Holdings LLC
- The SEC’s complaint alleges Mason made unauthorized transfers of money from Rubicon clients’ accounts to his own accounts and those of his entities, Rubicon and Orchard Park
- Mason used the money for his own purposes, including to pay country club dues, transfer it to other clients, and purchase a portion of a miniature golf course in New Jersey
- Mason forged clients’ signatures clients’ signatures
- Mason made numerous misrepresentations about what he was doing with clients’ money
- Mason concealed his fraud for years by providing fake account statements and tax documents
- Nicholas P. Grippo said As alleged, Mason’s clients trusted him to invest their money as he said he would but, instead, he repeatedly abused that trust to enrich himself at their expense. He then lied to them and manipulated documents to cover his tracks.
- The SEC’s complaint charges Mason, Rubicon, and Orchard Park with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws
- Mason, Rubicon, and Orchard Park have consented to the entry of final judgments that permanently enjoin them from committing future violations of those provisions
- The settlement is subject to court approval
- The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced criminal charges against Mason
- The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Laura E.L. Gavin, Brian P. Thomas, and Norman P. Ostrove in the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office
- The SEC’s investigation was supervised by Scott A. Thompson and Nicholas P. Grippo in the Philadelphia Regional Office
- The litigation will be led by Spencer Willig
- The litigation will be supervised by Gregory R. Bockin
- The SEC appreciates the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the FBI
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,521c)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged former Pennsylvania-based investment adviser Scott J. Mason, and his companies Rubicon Wealth Management LLC and Orchard Park Real Estate Holdings LLC, with misappropriating more than $20 million from at least 13 Rubicon advisory clients. According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least 2014 to 2024, Mason made unauthorized transfers of money from Rubicon clients’ accounts to his own accounts and those of his entities, Rubicon and Orchard Park. As the complaint alleges, Mason used the money for his own purposes, including to pay country club dues, transfer it to other clients, and purchase a portion of a miniature golf course in New Jersey. The complaint further alleges that Mason forged clients’ signatures, made numerous misrepresentations about what he was doing with clients’ money, and concealed his fraud for years by providing fake account statements and tax documents. “As alleged, Mason’s clients trusted him to invest their money as he said he would but, instead, he repeatedly abused that trust to enrich himself at their expense. He then lied to them and manipulated documents to cover his tracks,” said Nicholas P. Grippo, Regional Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. “This action once again shows the SEC’s commitment to holding advisers accountable when they violate the federal securities laws.” The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, charges Mason, Rubicon, and Orchard Park with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Mason, Rubicon, and Orchard Park have consented to the entry of final judgments that permanently enjoin them from committing future violations of those provisions and provides that the court will decide the amounts of disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties at a later date. The settlement is subject to court approval. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania today announced criminal charges against Mason. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Laura E.L. Gavin, Brian P. Thomas, and Norman P. Ostrove in the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. It was supervised by Scott A. Thompson and Nicholas P. Grippo in the Philadelphia Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Spencer Willig and supervised by Gregory R. Bockin. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the FBI.
OCR text (2,521c · html-text · 99% conf)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged former Pennsylvania-based investment adviser Scott J. Mason, and his companies Rubicon Wealth Management LLC and Orchard Park Real Estate Holdings LLC, with misappropriating more than $20 million from at least 13 Rubicon advisory clients. According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least 2014 to 2024, Mason made unauthorized transfers of money from Rubicon clients’ accounts to his own accounts and those of his entities, Rubicon and Orchard Park. As the complaint alleges, Mason used the money for his own purposes, including to pay country club dues, transfer it to other clients, and purchase a portion of a miniature golf course in New Jersey. The complaint further alleges that Mason forged clients’ signatures, made numerous misrepresentations about what he was doing with clients’ money, and concealed his fraud for years by providing fake account statements and tax documents. “As alleged, Mason’s clients trusted him to invest their money as he said he would but, instead, he repeatedly abused that trust to enrich himself at their expense. He then lied to them and manipulated documents to cover his tracks,” said Nicholas P. Grippo, Regional Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. “This action once again shows the SEC’s commitment to holding advisers accountable when they violate the federal securities laws.” The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, charges Mason, Rubicon, and Orchard Park with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Mason, Rubicon, and Orchard Park have consented to the entry of final judgments that permanently enjoin them from committing future violations of those provisions and provides that the court will decide the amounts of disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties at a later date. The settlement is subject to court approval. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania today announced criminal charges against Mason. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Laura E.L. Gavin, Brian P. Thomas, and Norman P. Ostrove in the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. It was supervised by Scott A. Thompson and Nicholas P. Grippo in the Philadelphia Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Spencer Willig and supervised by Gregory R. Bockin. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the FBI.