SEC v. Diana Mae Fernandez, No. LR-26346, Northern District of West Virginia (July 11, 2025) — Press Release
raw: Diana Mae Fernandez
Diana Mae Fernandez, No. 5:23-cv-00372 (July 11, 2025)
summary
Diana Mae Fernandez secured a consent judgment for orchestrating a $364,000 securities fraud scheme, resulting in a 33-month prison sentence and $330,144 in restitution.
paragraph
Diana Mae Fernandez orchestrated a fraudulent scheme between 2018 and 2020 that raised approximately $364,000 from at least 20 investors. She was charged with misrepresenting herself as a successful businesswoman to sell purported no-risk, short-term investments. Following a guilty plea to wire fraud, Fernandez was sentenced to 33 months of incarceration and ordered to pay $330,144 in restitution and forfeiture.
narrative
Between 2018 and 2020, Diana Mae Fernandez orchestrated a fraudulent securities scheme that raised approximately $364,000 from at least 20 investors. She falsely marketed herself as a successful businesswoman with access to no-risk, short-term investments, but diverted funds toward personal living expenses, lavish hotel stays, and Ponzi-like payments. In a parallel criminal action, Fernandez pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced to 33 months of incarceration, three years of supervised release, and $330,144 in restitution and forfeiture. The SEC secured a consent final judgment against her, imposing permanent injunctions against future securities violations. Additionally, the court ordered $296,021 in disgorgement, which was deemed satisfied by her criminal forfeiture amount. This dual resolution addresses both the civil securities violations and the underlying criminal fraud.
Classified ponzi(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D· recall 35% / precision 15%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionDiana Mae Fernandez
Keywords
fernandezsecsecurities exchangesecuritiesdianamaeexchange commissionnorthern westwest virginiaoffer salephiladelphia regionalexchangesupervisedcommissionlitigation
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 3
- $364K $364,000 $100K–$1M
- $330K $330,144 $100K–$1M
- $296K $296,021 $100K–$1M
Entities 9
- agency a settlement with the sec
- person Brendan P. McGlynn
- person Christopher R. Kelly
- person Diana Mae Fernandez
- person gregory r. bockin
- person investor money
- person Michael F. McGraw
- scheme_term one count of wire fraud
- agency the sec's investigation
Triples 14
- Diana Mae Fernandez orchestrated a scheme
- Diana Mae Fernandez raised approximately $364,000
- Diana Mae Fernandez used investor money
- Diana Mae Fernandez pleaded guilty one count of wire fraud
- Diana Mae Fernandez was sentenced to incarceration of thirty-three months
- Diana Mae Fernandez was sentenced to supervised release of three years
- Diana Mae Fernandez was sentenced to restitution of $330,144
- Diana Mae Fernandez was sentenced to forfeiture of $330,144
- Diana Mae Fernandez entered into a settlement with the SEC
- Diana Mae Fernandez consented to the entry of a judgment
- Christopher R. Kelly handled the litigation
- Gregory R. Bockin supervised the litigation
- Michael F. McGraw conducted the SEC's investigation
- Brendan P. McGlynn supervised the SEC's investigation
Extracted body text (2,295c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26346 / July 11, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Diana Mae Fernandez, No. 5:23-cv-00372 (N.D. W. Va. filed Dec. 21, 2023) Court Enters Consent Final Judgment in Alleged Offering Fraud On July 10, 2025, the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia entered final judgment against Defendant Diana Mae Fernandez. The SEC’s complaint, filed on December 21, 2023, alleged that, between 2018 and at least 2020, Fernandez orchestrated a scheme in which she raised approximately $364,000 from at least 20 investors through the fraudulent offer and sale of securities by touting the false narrative that she was a successful businesswoman with access to no-risk, short-term investments. The complaint also alleged that, instead of investing investor funds as promised, Fernandez used investor money to pay for her day-to-day living expenses and lavish hotel stays, fund numerous cash withdrawals, and make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors. In a parallel criminal action brought by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia arising out of the same conduct, Fernandez pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. On March 27, 2025, Fernandez was sentenced to: (1) incarceration of thirty-three months; (2) supervised release of three years; (3) restitution of $330,144; and (4) forfeiture of $330,144. Fernandez entered into a settlement with the SEC, in which she consented to the entry of a judgment against her imposing: (1) injunctions preventing further violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933; (2) an injunction preventing her from the offer or sale of a security; and (3) an order of disgorgement in the amount of $296,021, deemed satisfied by her criminal forfeiture amount. The litigation was handled by Christopher R. Kelly and supervised by Gregory R. Bockin of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. The SEC’s investigation that led to this action was conducted by Michael F. McGraw and was supervised by Brendan P. McGlynn, also of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. SEC Complaint
OCR text (2,295c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26346 / July 11, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Diana Mae Fernandez, No. 5:23-cv-00372 (N.D. W. Va. filed Dec. 21, 2023) Court Enters Consent Final Judgment in Alleged Offering Fraud On July 10, 2025, the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia entered final judgment against Defendant Diana Mae Fernandez. The SEC’s complaint, filed on December 21, 2023, alleged that, between 2018 and at least 2020, Fernandez orchestrated a scheme in which she raised approximately $364,000 from at least 20 investors through the fraudulent offer and sale of securities by touting the false narrative that she was a successful businesswoman with access to no-risk, short-term investments. The complaint also alleged that, instead of investing investor funds as promised, Fernandez used investor money to pay for her day-to-day living expenses and lavish hotel stays, fund numerous cash withdrawals, and make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors. In a parallel criminal action brought by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia arising out of the same conduct, Fernandez pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. On March 27, 2025, Fernandez was sentenced to: (1) incarceration of thirty-three months; (2) supervised release of three years; (3) restitution of $330,144; and (4) forfeiture of $330,144. Fernandez entered into a settlement with the SEC, in which she consented to the entry of a judgment against her imposing: (1) injunctions preventing further violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933; (2) an injunction preventing her from the offer or sale of a security; and (3) an order of disgorgement in the amount of $296,021, deemed satisfied by her criminal forfeiture amount. The litigation was handled by Christopher R. Kelly and supervised by Gregory R. Bockin of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. The SEC’s investigation that led to this action was conducted by Michael F. McGraw and was supervised by Brendan P. McGlynn, also of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. SEC Complaint