A New York-based hedge fund manager has been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with listing “sham” auditing firms and using “fabricated, fraudulent” documents to solicit over $11 million from investors.
Grand ‘Gad’ Grieve and two investment firms under his control – Finvest Asset Management and Finvest Fund Management – were charged in federal court in Manhattan, Bloomberg reports.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Grieve gave investors bogus auditing reports purportedly from a firm named Kass Roland.
Internet and phone accounts for the firm were traced to accounts in Grieve’s name and no such company is registered with state or federal authorities, the regulator added.
“He represented to potential investors that he had 54 consecutive months of positive returns, which we found to be highly suspicious,” says Scott Freistad, SEC attorney.
Bloomberg said Grieve could not be reached for comment.
The fund manager set up Finvest Asset Management in 2000.
D.C.