2018-09-20 sec-litreleases litigation_release 66 KB 2,500 chars

SEC v. World Tree Financial, LLC; Wesley Kyle Perkins; and Priscilla Gilmore Perkins, No. LR-24278, Western District of Louisiana (Sept. 20, 2018) — Press Release

raw: World Tree Financial, LLC, et al.

World Tree Financial, LLC, et al., No. LR-24278 (Sept. 20, 2018)

Caption
SEC v. World Tree Financial, LLC, et al.
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summary

Wesley Kyle Perkins and World Tree Financial, LLC defrauded clients through a cherry-picking scheme, resulting in substantial profits for Perkins, with the outcome pending litigation.

paragraph

The SEC charged World Tree Financial, LLC and its majority owner Wesley Kyle Perkins, along with Perkins' wife Priscilla Gilmore Perkins, with defrauding clients through a cherry-picking scheme. Perkins allegedly delayed allocating profitable trades to his own accounts while allocating losses to other client accounts, misrepresenting that trades were allocated fairly. The SEC seeks remedies for the misconduct, with the case part of a broader initiative targeting cherry-picking fraud.

narrative

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against World Tree Financial, LLC, its majority-owner Wesley Kyle Perkins, and his wife Priscilla Gilmore Perkins, alleging a cherry-picking scheme that defrauded clients. The scheme, which operated for over four years, involved Perkins delaying allocation of trades to client accounts until he observed their daily performance, then allocating profitable trades to favored accounts, including his own, while allocating unprofitable trades to other accounts. Perkins and World Tree Financial misrepresented to clients that trades would be allocated fairly and equitably, and that they did not trade in the same securities as their clients. The SEC charges World Tree and Perkins with violating antifraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, with Gilmore also charged with aiding and abetting these violations. The case is part of a broader SEC initiative targeting cherry-picking fraud, with litigation led by the Los Angeles Regional Office and the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The outcome of the litigation is pending.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
investment-adviser-fraud (100%)
Court
Western District of Louisiana
Entity
World Tree Financial, LLC
Classified investment-adviser-fraud(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms ADV/ADV-E/ADV-W/Form D· recall 33% / precision 13%. detection rule →
Statutes
Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange ActSections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Securities ActSections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Securities ActSections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Securities ActSections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers ActSections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers ActSection 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder, Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities ActSection 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder, Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities ActSection 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder, Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities ActRule 10b-5Rule 10b-5(b)
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionWorld Tree Financial, LLCWesley Kyle PerkinsPriscilla Gilmore Perkins
Keywords
world treeworldtreesecuritiestree financialperkinssecurities exchangeworld tree'stree perkinsfinancialllcclientsexchangetradesexchange commission

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Entities 5
  • court in u.s. district court for the w.d. louisiana
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • organization Securities and Exchange Commission
  • person wesley kyle perkins
  • company world tree financial, llc
Triples 12
  • SEC charged World Tree Financial, LLC, et al.
  • SEC filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the W.D. Louisiana
  • World Tree Financial, LLC and its majority-owner and co-founder, Wesley Kyle Perkins operated a cherry-picking scheme that defrauded World Tree clients
  • Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against World Tree Financial, LLC and Wesley Kyle Perkins for operating a cherry-picking scheme that defrauded World Tree clients
  • World Tree Financial, LLC defrauded clients
  • Wesley Kyle Perkins defrauded clients
  • Securities and Exchange Commission filed complaint
  • Securities and Exchange Commission charges World Tree Financial, LLC, et al.
  • Securities and Exchange Commission charges Investment Adviser and Senior Officers
  • World Tree Financial, LLC operated cherry-picking scheme
  • cherry-picking scheme defrauded World Tree clients
  • Wesley Kyle Perkins is majority-owner and co-founder of World Tree Financial, LLC
PDF (from attached: complaint)
investment adviser and its owner. Investment advisers often trade stocks and other · Source
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,500c) 
SEC Charges Investment Adviser and Senior Officers with Defrauding Clients Litigation Release No. 24278 / September 20, 2018 Securities and Exchange Commission v. World Tree Financial, LLC, et al., Civil Action No. 18-cv-1229 (W.D. Louisiana filed Sept. 18, 2018) The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint today in U.S. District Court for the W.D. Louisiana against Lafayette, Louisiana-based World Tree Financial, LLC and its majority-owner and co-founder, Wesley Kyle Perkins, for operating a cherry-picking scheme that defrauded World Tree clients. The complaint alleges that for more than four years, Perkins reaped substantial profits at his clients' expense by cherry-picking trades. Perkins allegedly traded securities in World Tree's omnibus account and delayed allocating the securities to specific client accounts until he had observed the securities' performance over the course of the day. He then allocated profitable trades to favored accounts, like his own, while allocating unprofitable trades to two accounts with substantial assets controlled by one person. The complaint also alleges that World Tree and Perkins misrepresented to clients that all trades would be allocated fairly and equitably. In addition, it is alleged that World Tree, Perkins and Priscilla Gilmore Perkins, Perkins' wife and the firm's co-founder and co-owner, falsely represented that they were not trading in the same securities as World Tree's clients. The SEC's complaint charges World Tree and Perkins with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, Sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. It also alleges that Gilmore violated the antifraud provisions Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder, Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act, and aided and abetted World Tree's and Perkins' violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. This is the sixth action arising out of an enforcement initiative to combat cherry-picking led by the SEC's Los Angeles Regional Office and supported by the agency's Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA). The SEC's investigation was conducted by David Rosen and supervised by Robert Conrrad, with assistance from Scott Walster and Raymond Wolff in the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The litigation will be led by Gary Leung. SEC Complaint
OCR text (2,500c · html-text · 99% conf) 
SEC Charges Investment Adviser and Senior Officers with Defrauding Clients Litigation Release No. 24278 / September 20, 2018 Securities and Exchange Commission v. World Tree Financial, LLC, et al., Civil Action No. 18-cv-1229 (W.D. Louisiana filed Sept. 18, 2018) The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint today in U.S. District Court for the W.D. Louisiana against Lafayette, Louisiana-based World Tree Financial, LLC and its majority-owner and co-founder, Wesley Kyle Perkins, for operating a cherry-picking scheme that defrauded World Tree clients. The complaint alleges that for more than four years, Perkins reaped substantial profits at his clients' expense by cherry-picking trades. Perkins allegedly traded securities in World Tree's omnibus account and delayed allocating the securities to specific client accounts until he had observed the securities' performance over the course of the day. He then allocated profitable trades to favored accounts, like his own, while allocating unprofitable trades to two accounts with substantial assets controlled by one person. The complaint also alleges that World Tree and Perkins misrepresented to clients that all trades would be allocated fairly and equitably. In addition, it is alleged that World Tree, Perkins and Priscilla Gilmore Perkins, Perkins' wife and the firm's co-founder and co-owner, falsely represented that they were not trading in the same securities as World Tree's clients. The SEC's complaint charges World Tree and Perkins with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, Sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. It also alleges that Gilmore violated the antifraud provisions Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder, Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act, and aided and abetted World Tree's and Perkins' violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. This is the sixth action arising out of an enforcement initiative to combat cherry-picking led by the SEC's Los Angeles Regional Office and supported by the agency's Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA). The SEC's investigation was conducted by David Rosen and supervised by Robert Conrrad, with assistance from Scott Walster and Raymond Wolff in the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The litigation will be led by Gary Leung. SEC Complaint

Related documents (1)