SEC Charges Investment Adviser With Running $3.9 Million Fraud

Washington D.C., Nov. 2, 2018 —
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former registered representative and investment adviser in Altoona, Pennsylvania, with operating a long-running offering fraud.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Douglas P. Simanski raised over $3.9 million from approximately 27 of his brokerage customers and investment advisory clients, many of them retired or elderly, by telling them that he would invest their money in either a “tax free” fixed rate investment, a rental car company, or one of two coal mining companies in which Simanski claimed to have an ownership interest. He allegedly told the investors to write checks payable to personal bank and brokerage accounts he opened in his wife’s name. The complaint alleges that instead of investing the money as he promised, Simanski largely used the money to repay other investors and for his personal use. According to the complaint, Simanski’s scheme collapsed when one of his clients contacted the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Simanski admitted his scheme to his employer. Read More