Bradley Mascho, an associate of convicted felon and former celebrity financial advisor Dawn Bennett, has agreed to permanent injunctions barring further fraudulent conduct, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The settlement with the SEC comes four months after Mascho, 53, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., to 30 months in prison for helping Bennett defraud investment clients. He also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $4.8 million in restitution.
Mascho pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and making a false statement as part of a plea agreement.
Bennett was sentenced in June to 20 years in prison for defrauding her clients of $20 million and using the money to pay for religious rituals, astrological gems and other luxuries.
In an amended complaint, the SEC said that between December 2014 and July 2017, Mascho, a resident of Frederick, Md., and a former advisor with Western International Securities Inc., aided and abetted an offering fraud orchestrated by Bennett, the founder and owner of DJB Holdings LLC, a retail business that sold luxury sporting goods and sports apparel from its brick-and-mortar store in Washington, D.C., and through its website.
Mascho, the SEC said, assisted Bennett in raising more than $20 million from at least 46 investors through the unregistered offering of DJBennett convertible and promissory notes by fraudulently misrepresenting and omitting material facts to investors regarding DJBennett’s financial condition and operating performance, the risks associated with the investment and the intended use of investor proceeds.
Instead of using the investors’ money as promised, the SEC said Mascho colluded with Bennett in using the money to pay other investors in Ponzi-like payments and for Bennett’s personal expenses. The amended complaint also alleged that Mascho and Bennett sold unregistered securities.
The final judgment in the SEC's case permanently enjoins Mascho from future violations. He was barred from association with any broker-dealer, advisor, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent or nationally recognized statistical rating organization. Additionally, the SEC barred Mascho from participating in any offering of a penny stock.
Two years ago, Mascho also was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for refusing to appear for on-the-record testimony relating to its fraud investigation.