2015-09-02 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 2,229 chars

SEC v. Roger S. Bliss; Roger S. Bliss d/b/a Roger Bliss and Associates Equities, LLC; Roger Bliss and Associates Club LLC; and Bliss Club LLC, No. LR-23332, District of Utah (Sept. 2, 2015) — Press Release

raw: Roger S. Bliss and Roger S. Bliss d/b/a Roger Bliss and Associates Equities, LLC, Roger Bliss and Associates Club LLC and/or Bliss Club LLC

Roger S. Bliss and Roger S. Bliss d/b/a Roger Bliss and Associates Equities, LLC, Roger Bliss and Associates Club LLC and/or Bliss Club LLC, No. LR-23332 (Sept. 2, 2015)

Caption
SEC v. Roger S. Bliss, et al.
summary

Roger S. Bliss, an alleged investment club fraudster, faces felony charges for obstructing justice and violating an asset freeze order after concealing his ownership of a catamaran sailboat and misusing over $3 million in investor funds.

paragraph

Roger S. Bliss operated an investment club that falsely promised returns in excess of 100 percent by day-trading Apple stock, resulting in losses of over $3 million. Bliss concealed his ownership of a catamaran sailboat and secretly transferred possession to his brother-in-law, violating an asset freeze order. Bliss faces felony charges for obstructing justice and violating the asset freeze, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

narrative

Roger S. Bliss, an alleged investment club fraudster, operated a scheme that falsely promised returns in excess of 100 percent by day-trading Apple stock, resulting in losses of over $3 million. Bliss allegedly concealed his ownership of a catamaran sailboat and secretly transferred possession to his brother-in-law, Kevin Fortney, violating an asset freeze order imposed by the court in February 2015. Bliss and Fortney submitted false sworn statements denying Bliss's ownership to evade the asset freeze. The court found Bliss in civil contempt and referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney's Office, leading to federal criminal charges for obstruction of justice and violating the asset freeze order. Bliss and Fortney each face up to 15 years in prison and $250,000 fines per felony count. The SEC's original civil case, filed in February 2015, remains active alongside the criminal proceedings.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
obstruction (100%)
Court
District of Utah
Outcome
indicted
Civil penalty
$250,000
Victim loss
$3,000,000
Entity
Roger S. Bliss
Classified obstruction(confidence 100%). No EDGAR filing fingerprint (criminal/DOJ-side scheme). detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionRoger S. Bliss d/b/a Roger Bliss and Associates Equities, LLCRoger S. BlissRoger Bliss and Associates Club LLCBliss Club LLC
Keywords
blissroger blissrogerbliss rogerbliss associatesllcclubasset freezeassociatessecassociates equitiesassociates clubbliss clubsecurities exchangeexchange commission

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 2
  • $3.00M $3 million $1M–$10M
  • $250K $250,000 $100K–$1M
Entities 3
  • person investment club fraud
  • company roger bliss and associates equities, llc and bliss club llc
  • person Roger S. Bliss
Triples 6
  • Roger S. Bliss alleged to commit investment club fraud
  • U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION filed suit against Roger S. Bliss and related entities for obstructing and fraud
  • Roger S. Bliss operated Roger Bliss and Associates Equities, LLC and Bliss Club LLC
  • Roger S. Bliss alleged to commit investment club fraud
  • U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION filed suit against Roger S. Bliss and related entities for obstructing securities regulations
  • Roger S. Bliss operated Roger Bliss and Associates Equities, LLC and Bliss Club LLC
View original SEC litigation releasesec.gov
Extracted body text (2,229c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 23332 / September 2, 2015 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Roger S. Bliss and Roger S. Bliss d/b/a Roger Bliss and Associates Equities, LLC, Roger Bliss and Associates Club LLC and/or Bliss Club LLC, Civil Action No. 2:15cv00098 Alleged Investment Club Fraudster Indicted On Charges of Obstructing SEC Investigation and Violating Asset Freeze The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that an alleged investment club fraudster whose assets were frozen in an SEC enforcement action earlier this year has now been criminally charged by a grand jury for lying and obstructing justice in an ongoing SEC investigation. In a complaint filed in federal court in Utah in February, the SEC alleges that Roger S. Bliss, of Bountiful, Utah, operated an investment club that falsely promised returns in excess of 100 percent by day-trading Apple stock. In reality, Bliss lost more than $3 million day-trading and failed to use all of the investor funds for his stated purpose of day-trading. The court imposed an asset freeze against Bliss at the SEC's request. The SEC thereafter learned that Bliss concealed his ownership of a catamaran sailboat and secretly transferred possession to his brother-in-law, Kevin Fortney. After the SEC moved for civil contempt against Bliss for violating the asset freeze, both Bliss and his brother-in-law, who was not charged in the SEC's enforcement action, filed sworn declarations that the sailboat was owned by the brother-in-law and not by Bliss. In an order issued on August 14, the court found Bliss in contempt of the asset freeze order and referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah for potential criminal charges. The U.S. Attorney's Office presented the case to the grand jury. The resulting criminal charges against Bliss are based on the same violations of the asset freeze order that were the basis of the SEC's civil contempt motion. The felony counts subject Bliss and Fortney to a potential prison sentence of as many as 15 years each and a monetary fine of up to $250,000 for each charge. For more information see the following Litigation Release: 23196 (February 12, 2015).
OCR text (2,229c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 23332 / September 2, 2015 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Roger S. Bliss and Roger S. Bliss d/b/a Roger Bliss and Associates Equities, LLC, Roger Bliss and Associates Club LLC and/or Bliss Club LLC, Civil Action No. 2:15cv00098 Alleged Investment Club Fraudster Indicted On Charges of Obstructing SEC Investigation and Violating Asset Freeze The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that an alleged investment club fraudster whose assets were frozen in an SEC enforcement action earlier this year has now been criminally charged by a grand jury for lying and obstructing justice in an ongoing SEC investigation. In a complaint filed in federal court in Utah in February, the SEC alleges that Roger S. Bliss, of Bountiful, Utah, operated an investment club that falsely promised returns in excess of 100 percent by day-trading Apple stock. In reality, Bliss lost more than $3 million day-trading and failed to use all of the investor funds for his stated purpose of day-trading. The court imposed an asset freeze against Bliss at the SEC's request. The SEC thereafter learned that Bliss concealed his ownership of a catamaran sailboat and secretly transferred possession to his brother-in-law, Kevin Fortney. After the SEC moved for civil contempt against Bliss for violating the asset freeze, both Bliss and his brother-in-law, who was not charged in the SEC's enforcement action, filed sworn declarations that the sailboat was owned by the brother-in-law and not by Bliss. In an order issued on August 14, the court found Bliss in contempt of the asset freeze order and referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah for potential criminal charges. The U.S. Attorney's Office presented the case to the grand jury. The resulting criminal charges against Bliss are based on the same violations of the asset freeze order that were the basis of the SEC's civil contempt motion. The felony counts subject Bliss and Fortney to a potential prison sentence of as many as 15 years each and a monetary fine of up to $250,000 for each charge. For more information see the following Litigation Release: 23196 (February 12, 2015).