The SEC obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against a Florida-based private real estate firm and its executives in connection with an allegedly fraudulent unregistered securities offering that raised more than $170 million from more than 1,000 investors, a number of whom invested their retirement funds.
According to the SEC’s complaint, unsealed on Friday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, EquiAlt, its CEO Brian Davison and its managing director Barry Rybicki, and the entities they control, fraudulently raised millions of dollars by making material misrepresentations to investors about EquiAlt’s investment strategy, the financial condition of the investments, and the uses of investor proceeds.
The complaint said EquiAlt, Davison and Rybicki promised at least 1,100 investors, many of them elderly, that substantially all of their money would be used to purchase real estate in distressed markets in the U.S. and their investments would yield generous returns. Instead, they misappropriated millions in investor funds for their own personal use and benefit, the SEC said.
Investors were allegedly told that their funds would be pooled and about 90% of the money would be used to purchase undervalued real estate, rent or flip the properties, and pay investors 8% to 10% annual interest generated from the real estate investments, the SEC said. In reality, the complaint alleges, a large portion of investor money went to support Davison’s and Rybicki’s lavish personal spending, and less than 50% of the funds raised were used to invest in properties.
The complaint said the men often used the money to purchase high-end personal items such as Ferraris, Porsches and a Rolls Royce and watches, and to charter private jets. Davison alone spent more than $2.7 million on luxury automobiles and watches and chartering private jets, the complaint said. The complaint said that in April 2017, Davison also took cash distributions from several of the funds totaling $1.8 million and used the money to pay personal back income taxes.
In addition, money from one investment fund controlled by EquiAlt was allegedly used to make Ponzi-like payments to investors in another fund, the complaint said.
In addition to granting the SEC’s request for a temporary restraining order and asset freeze, a federal judge also ordered against the destruction of documents, and an accounting against EquiAlt, Davison, Rybicki and a number of companies charged by the SEC as relief defendants. In addition, the court also granted the SEC’s request to appoint a receiver over the corporate defendants and the relief defendants.
The SEC’s complaint charges EquiAlt, Davison, and Rybicki with violations of the antifraud and securities registration provisions and aiding and abetting violations of the broker-dealer registration provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC said it is seeking disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains, and financial penalties against the defendants. The SEC said its investigation is continuing.