SEC v. Joseph Meli; Matthew Harriton; Advance Entertainment; Advance Entertainment II; 875 Holdings; and 127 Holdings, No. LR-23731, Southern District of New York (Jan. 27, 2017) — Press Release
raw: Joseph Meli et al.
Joseph Meli et al., No. 1:17-cv-00632 (Jan. 27, 2017)
summary
Joseph Meli and Matthew Harriton allegedly ran an $81 million Ponzi scheme, diverting nearly $2 million for personal expenses, and face charges of securities fraud and parallel criminal charges.
paragraph
Joseph Meli and Matthew Harriton allegedly operated a Ponzi scheme, raising over $81 million from at least 125 investors in 13 states by misrepresenting their ticket resale businesses. The scheme involved diverting almost $2 million for personal expenses, including jewelry, private school tuition, and casino payments. Meli and Harriton are charged with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5.
narrative
Joseph Meli and Matthew Harriton allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme, raising over $81 million from at least 125 investors in 13 states by misrepresenting their ticket resale businesses. The scheme involved diverting almost $2 million for personal expenses, including jewelry, private school tuition, and casino payments. Meli and Harriton falsely claimed that investor funds would be used to purchase and resell high-demand concert and Broadway tickets, particularly for Hamilton, promising high returns within eight months. However, the SEC alleged that no legitimate ticket-purchasing agreements existed, including the claimed 35,000-ticket deal with Hamilton’s producer. Meli and Harriton are charged with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5, and face parallel criminal charges from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The SEC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus interest and penalties, and has named Meli’s wife and a related LLC as relief defendants to recover misappropriated funds.
Classified ponzi(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D· recall 35% / precision 15%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionJessica Ingber Meli127 Partners, LLCAdventureland, LLCMXCU Holdings, LLCAndy JonesNineteen Two Productions, LLCBaseline TheatricalEmanuel Azenberg875 Holdings, LLCMash Transactions, LLCJoseph Meli127 Holdings, LLCAnna MeliNederlander Organization Inc.Advance Entertainment, LLCJeffrey SellerAdvance Entertainment II, LLCMatthew Harriton127 Iconic Holdings, LLCAdvance EntertainmentAdvance Entertainment II875 Holdings127 Holdings
Keywords
melijoseph melisecurities exchangenewinvestorsexchange commissionmeli harritonsecuritiessecjosephexchangemoneyharritonponzi schemeinvestor funds
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 2
- $81.00M $81 million $10M–$100M
- $2.00M $2 million $1M–$10M
Entities 2
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- organization Securities and Exchange Commission
Triples 7
- Securities and Exchange Commission announced fraud charges two New York City men accused of running a Ponzi scheme with money raised from investors to fund businesses purportedly created to purchase and resell tickets to high-demand shows such as Adele concerts and Broadway musicals
- Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges two New York City men accused of running a Ponzi scheme with money raised from investors to fund businesses purportedly created to purchase and resell tickets to high-demand shows such as Adele concerts and Broadway musicals
- Joseph Meli announced charges Hamilton Ticket Resale Ponzi Scheme
- SEC announced fraud charges
- Joseph Meli et al. running Ponzi scheme
- SEC filed Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-00632
- Joseph Meli et al. accused of fraud charges
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,708c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 23731 / January 27, 2017 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Joseph Meli et al, Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-00632 (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York) SEC Announces Charges In Hamilton Ticket Resale Ponzi Scheme The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against two New York City men accused of running a Ponzi scheme with money raised from investors to fund businesses purportedly created to purchase and resell tickets to such high-demand shows as Adele concerts and the Broadway musical Hamilton. The SEC alleges that Joseph Meli and Matthew Harriton misrepresented to investors that all of their money would be pooled to buy large blocks of tickets that would be resold at a profit to produce high returns for investors. The bulk of investor funds were allegedly used for other undisclosed purposes, namely making Ponzi payments to prior investors using money from new investors. Meli and Harriton allegedly diverted almost $2 million for such personal expenses as jewelry purchases, private school and camp tuition, and casino payments. According to the SEC's complaint, the scheme went so far as to misrepresent that an agreement was in place with the producer of Hamilton to purchase 35,000 tickets to the musical. Investor money was supposedly paying part of that cost with the return on investment promised within eight months. The SEC alleges no such agreement or purchase ever happened. Meli and Harriton allegedly raised more than $81 million from at least 125 investors in 13 states. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Meli. The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Meli and Harriton along with their four purported ticket reselling businesses named Advance Entertainment, Advance Entertainment II, 875 Holdings, and 127 Holdings. The complaint charges defendants with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 and seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten monetary gains plus interest and penalties. Jessica Ingber Meli and 127 Partners, LLC are named as relief defendants in the complaint for the purposes of recovering investor funds allegedly in their possession. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Dahlia Rin, Rebecca Israel, John McCann, and Celia Moore of the Boston office, and the litigation will be led by Martin Healey. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. SEC Complaint
OCR text (2,708c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 23731 / January 27, 2017 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Joseph Meli et al, Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-00632 (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York) SEC Announces Charges In Hamilton Ticket Resale Ponzi Scheme The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against two New York City men accused of running a Ponzi scheme with money raised from investors to fund businesses purportedly created to purchase and resell tickets to such high-demand shows as Adele concerts and the Broadway musical Hamilton. The SEC alleges that Joseph Meli and Matthew Harriton misrepresented to investors that all of their money would be pooled to buy large blocks of tickets that would be resold at a profit to produce high returns for investors. The bulk of investor funds were allegedly used for other undisclosed purposes, namely making Ponzi payments to prior investors using money from new investors. Meli and Harriton allegedly diverted almost $2 million for such personal expenses as jewelry purchases, private school and camp tuition, and casino payments. According to the SEC's complaint, the scheme went so far as to misrepresent that an agreement was in place with the producer of Hamilton to purchase 35,000 tickets to the musical. Investor money was supposedly paying part of that cost with the return on investment promised within eight months. The SEC alleges no such agreement or purchase ever happened. Meli and Harriton allegedly raised more than $81 million from at least 125 investors in 13 states. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Meli. The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Meli and Harriton along with their four purported ticket reselling businesses named Advance Entertainment, Advance Entertainment II, 875 Holdings, and 127 Holdings. The complaint charges defendants with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 and seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten monetary gains plus interest and penalties. Jessica Ingber Meli and 127 Partners, LLC are named as relief defendants in the complaint for the purposes of recovering investor funds allegedly in their possession. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Dahlia Rin, Rebecca Israel, John McCann, and Celia Moore of the Boston office, and the litigation will be led by Martin Healey. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. SEC Complaint