SEC v. Legendary Partners, LLC; and Scott L. Snyder, No. 8:23-cv-01282, Central District of California (July 18, 2023) — Complaint
raw: Securities and Exchange Commission v. Legendary Partners, LLC and Scott L. Snyder
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Legendary Partners, LLC and Scott L. Snyder, No. 8:23-cv-01282 (July 18, 2023)
The SEC sued Legendary Partners, LLC and Scott L. Snyder for a nationwide offering fraud that misappropriated approximately $391,000 from elderly investors.
The SEC alleges that between 2018 and 2021, defendants used deceptive tactics to raise $391,000 for a fraudulent reality TV series and diverted funds intended for other companies. The complaint charges the defendants with violating Sections 17(a) of the Securities Act and 10(b) of the Exchange Act. The agency is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a complaint against Legendary Partners, LLC and its president, Scott L. Snyder, for a nationwide offering fraud occurring between April 2018 and December 2021. The defendants allegedly targeted elderly investors by pitching a fraudulent reality television series about luxury vehicle refurbishment, raising approximately $391,000. Snyder, often using the alias 'Bill Miller,' also misappropriated funds from investors who intended to fund unrelated companies like Biosynetics and Incorporated Productions. The SEC alleges that investor money was used for personal expenses, including travel, retail purchases, and restaurant meals. The defendants face charges for violating Sections 17(a) of the Securities Act and 10(b) of the Exchange Act. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil penalties, and an officer-and-director bar against Snyder.
Extracted insights
- $18.00M $18,000,000 $10M–$100M
- $1.00M $1 million $1M–$10M
- $391K $391,000 $100K–$1M
- $391K $391,000 $100K–$1M
- $246K $246,000 $100K–$1M
- $36K $35,700 $10K–$100K
- $21K $20,700 $10K–$100K
- $13K $12,500 $10K–$100K
- $13K $12,500 $10K–$100K
- $10K $10,000 $10K–$100K
- $10K $10,000 $10K–$100K
- $8K $7,700 <$10K
- person bill miller
- person cold callers
- person elderly investors
- person gary y. leung
- company legendary partners llc
- agency local counsel for securities and exchange commission
- person misleading profit projections
- person nationwide offering fraud
- person scott l. snyder
- person this action
- Court has jurisdiction over this action
- Defendants made use of interstate commerce and the mails
- Scott L. Snyder resides within Central District Of California
- Legendary Partners LLC engaged in nationwide offering fraud
- Scott L. Snyder engaged in nationwide offering fraud
- Nationwide offering fraud targeted elderly investors
- Legendary Partners LLC raised approximately $391,000
- Scott L. Snyder misdirected money to Legendary Partners LLC
- Snyder tricked investors into depositing money into accounts controlled by Legendary Partners LLC
- Legendary Partners LLC misappropriated money
- Scott L. Snyder misappropriated money
- Snyder used alias Bill Miller
- Cold callers located in Orange County, California
- Defendants provided misleading profit projections
- Gary Y. Leung serves as local counsel for Securities And Exchange Commission
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DEAN M. CONWAY (DC Bar 457433) pro hac vice pending Email: [email protected] CAROLYN KURR (Maryland Bar No. 9512130114) pro hac vice pending Email: [email protected] Attorneys for Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, NE Washington, DC 20549 Telephone: (202) 551-4412 Facsimile: (202) 772-9245 LOCAL COUNSEL: GARY Y. LEUNG (Cal. Bar No. 302928) 444 S. Flower Street, Suite 900 Securities and Exchange Commission Los Angeles, California 90071 Email: [email protected] Phone: (323) 965-3998 Fax: (213) 443-1904 Attorneys for Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, Plaintiff, vs. LEGENDARY PARTNERS, LLC AND SCOTT L. SNYDER, Defendants. Case No. COMPLAINT DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) alleges: JURISDICTION AND VENUE 1. The Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to Sections 20(b), 20(d), and 22(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) [15 U.S.C. §§ 77t(b), 77t(d), and 77v(a)] and Sections 21(d) and 27(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) [15 U.S.C. §§ 78u(d) and 78aa]. 2. Defendants have, directly or indirectly, made use of the means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce and of the mails in connection with the acts, practices, and courses of business alleged in this complaint. 3. Venue is proper in this district pursuant to Section 22(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77v(a)] and Section 27(a) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78aa] because certain of the acts, practices, and courses of conduct constituting violations of the federal securities laws occurred within this district. Defendant Scott L. Snyder resides within the Central District of California, and at least one of the victims of the fraud alleged herein resides within this district. SUMMARY 4. From April 2018 through December 2021, Legendary Partners LLC (“Legendary Partners”) and its founder and President, Scott L. Snyder (“Snyder”), engaged in a nationwide offering fraud that targeted mostly elderly investors and raised approximately $391,000. The offering was pitched as an opportunity to invest in a start-up company that purportedly would produce a reality-television series about the refurbishment of damaged exotic and luxury vehicles. 5. In addition to the solicitation fraud, Snyder also intentionally misdirected money to Legendary Partners from several other investors who intended to invest in different and unrelated offerings. Specifically, these investors intended to invest their money in either a movie production company called Incorporated Productions, or a pharmaceutical company called Biosynetics. Instead of investing the money as promised, Snyder instead tricked these investors into depositing their 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 money into accounts controlled by Legendary Partners. This money was then misappropriated by Legendary Partners and Snyder. 6. Defendants’ fraud was accomplished through the use of “cold callers”— including Snyder who nearly always concealed his true identity when interacting with investors by using the alias “Bill Miller”—located in Orange County, California. The cold callers would contact the mostly elderly investors by phone and then engage in aggressive sales tactics ladened with materially false and misleading statements. For example, Defendants routinely provided baseless and misleading profit projections designed to entice investors. 7. Finally, a substantial portion of the Legendary Partners’ investor funds was not used as promised. Specifically, Legendary Partners and Snyder withdrew most investor funds as cash and paid salaries out of investor funds even though that use was not disclosed to investors. Snyder also spent investor money on restaurants, retail purchases, travel, and other items. 8. Through this conduct, Legendary Partners and Snyder violated Sections 17(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)] and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b)] and Rule 10b-5 thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5]. 9. The SEC seeks Final Judgments: (a) permanently enjoining Defendants from violating the federal securities laws and rules this Complaint alleges they have violated including a conduct-based injunction enjoining Snyder from participating in future securities offerings; (b) ordering Defendants to disgorge all ill-gotten gains they received as a result of the violations alleged pursuant to Exchange Act Sections 21(d)(3), (d)(5) and 21(d)(7) [15 U.S.C. §§ 78u(d)(3), 78u(d)(5) and 78u(d)(7)], and to pay prejudgment interest thereon; (c) ordering Defendants to pay civil money penalties pursuant to Section 21A of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78u-1]; (d) ordering Defendant Snyder barred from serving as an officer and director of a public securities issuer pursuant to Section 20(e) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77t(e)] and Section 21(d)(2) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(2)]; and (e) ordering 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 any other and further relief the Court may deem just and proper. DEFENDANTS 10. Legendary Partners is a Wyoming limited liability company organized on November 30, 2017. According to the Wyoming Secretary of State’s website, Legendary Partners is inactive and administratively dissolved, delinquent in payment of its taxes, and its registered agent has resigned. Legendary Partners controlled two bank accounts that received investor funds solicited by Snyder and others. Snyder was a signatory on both accounts. 11. Snyder, age 65, resides in Mission Viejo, California. Snyder was the founder and president of Legendary Partners. He testified that he used the alias “Bill Miller” in his communications with investors during the entire period of the Legendary Partners offering. Snyder asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege in response to certain questions in his SEC testimony, including questions related to his solicitation of Legendary Partners investors. 12. Snyder was also a director of a Nevada-based corporation named Incorporated Productions, which was subject to a Desist and Refrain Order issued on June 11, 2019 by the State of California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, Department of Business Oversight (“Desist and Refrain Order”). The Desist ad Refrain Order found that “[b]ased on the foregoing findings, the Commissioner is of the opinion that the securities offered by . . . Incorporated Productions . . . were offered in this state by means of written or oral communications that included untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in violation of section 25401 of the Corporate Securities Law of 1968.” The Desist and Refrain Order became final on February 27, 2020. /// /// /// 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 FACTS A. The Legendary Partners Deceptive Investment Scheme Primarily Targeted Elderly Investors and was Facilitated by Snyder’s Use of an Alias. 13. On December 30, 2017, Legendary Partners was incorporated as an LLC in Wyoming. Snyder started the company, and Snyder came up with its concept. 14. Snyder used Legendary Partners in connection with the production and sale of a television show about the repair and sale of wrecked exotic vehicles. Defendants operated out of a call center located in Orange County, California (“call center”). At first, Snyder held a one third equity interest in Legendary Partners along with two other partners (pursuant undocumented agreements) from the Orange County call center until one of the partners departed. After that departure, Snyder and the remaining partner shared 50% interests in Legendary Partners (undocumented). The remaining partner assisted Snyder in soliciting investors on behalf of Legendary Partners. 15. From April 2018 until at least December 2021, Snyder (and one of his partners from the call center) deceptively concealed their real identities from investors with aliases. At nearly all times, Snyder used the alias “Bill Miller” when communicating with Legendary Partners investors, and investors did not know his real name. Snyder used this alias to conceal his association with his remaining call center partner, who was a securities law recidivist, as well as to conceal his role as a director at Incorporated Productions, which in June 2019 became the subject of the Desist and Cease Order. 16. Snyder and others solicited investments in Legendary Partners from 21 mainly elderly investors. Of these 21 investors, over 75% were in their seventies or older, many in their 80s and 90s, and only five investors were in their 60s or younger. Similarly, of the five investors who invested in other offerings (but whose investments were wrongly deposited into bank accounts controlled by Legendary 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Partners), all but one was in their 70s or 80s. 17. From April 2018 through December 2021, Snyder and other individuals in the Orange County call center solicited investors on behalf of Legendary Partners and raised approximately $391,000 from approximately 21 investors. Snyder was responsible for raising approximately $246,000 of the $391,000 received from at least eleven Legendary Partners investors. 18. From February 2018 through July 2019, Legendary Partners and Snyder solicited an additional $35,700 from five investors for investments in two other offerings that were unrelated to Legendary Partners. Snyder was personally responsible for raising $20,700 from at least 3 of the 5. Rather than deposit those investor funds into bank accounts associated with those offerings, he instead misappropriated the investments by directing investors to send their funds directly to a Legendary Partners bank account or caused the funds to be deposited into one of the accounts controlled by Legendary Partners. 1. Defendants Used Deceptive Sales Tactics That Included Offering Quick and Improbable Returns. 19. From February 1, 2018 until December 13, 2021, Snyder and others used deceptive sales tactics to pressure investors to invest in Legendary Partners. For example, a form letter that Legendary Partners and Snyder sent to investors stated that: [W]e will begin to submit the show to the Networks and Production Companies to sell in the next 60-90 days on a 1-3 season deal for a quick turn-around with an upfront payback to our Equity Partners. (emphasis original) 20. During the period from February 2018 through December 2021, Snyder sent a version of the form letter referenced immediately above to potential investors before their investments. Snyder signed the letter as “Bill Miller, Legendary Partners, LLC, Executive Producer – Salvage Wars TV Car Show.” 21. During the period of June 2018 through January 2021, Snyder similarly 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 told at least six Legendary Partners investors that it would take only “a few months” or “three to six months” for them to start earning a return on their investment. This quick time frame for making a return on the investment was especially important to elderly investors—as one 90-year old investor explained, he “doesn’t want to wait around forever due to his advanced age.” 22. Snyder and Legendary Partners also promised baseless and inflated returns for a concept television simply because: Netflix and all the other streaming services were spending billions of dollars to buy anything and everything just to fill in air time in competition for subscribers. They didn’t care if it was good or bad or the premise of the show.... So why wouldn’t I believe that my show that was far [more] interesting would be bought just as much as a show about popping pimples [an apparent reference to the Netflix show Dr. Pimple Popper]? 23. Defendants knew, or were reckless in not knowing, that there was no legitimate factual basis for the profit projections that they used to entice investors. Indeed, Defendants knew that their profit projections were materially misleading. 24. Snyder and Legendary Partners included similar exaggerated and unsupported profit projections in Legendary Partners Offering Memoranda (“OM”). Defendants had multiple versions of the OM that were similar but not identical. One of the OM that was provided to investors contained the following baseless projections: /// /// /// /// /// /// /// 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 25. On November 12, 2019, Snyder emailed two investors an iteration of the OM that concluded by stating “With only 5 Seasons, we expect to generate in excess of $18,000,000!” (emphasis original). In addition, the version of the OM that these two investors received did not contain the statement (supra at ¶ 24, line 14) that “These are estimates only. No guarantee or results are implied.” 26. In November and December 2019, Snyder told another Legendary Partners investor that although he could guarantee anything and that there was risk involved, the prospective investor would make a 50% profit in 3-6 months. 27. On March 13, 2020, Snyder told yet another investor that if HBO or YouTube picked up the show, it would generate $1 million in profits to be split between the partners. /// /// /// 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 28. Snyder told another Legendary Partners investor “to expect 10-15% return on an ongoing basis, in addition to a dividend (which was not known), as long as they produced the movie with my money.” 29. On January 28, 2020, Snyder also sent the same investor an undated email that contained exaggerated profit projections, explained that the investor was being offered a highly reduced price for his investment, and indicated that these sales were a limited time offer. Snyder wrote that another individual at the call center had “overstepped his authority today when he offered you a 25k position for 12,500, but of course, we will honor his offer to you.” Snyder then tried to induce the prospective investor to invest even more than the $12,500 he originally contemplated: I originally told [the other individual at the call center] that you are a good, long time client and have been waiting a long time for Inc[orporated] Prod[uctions] to come to fruition and that he should give you a 50k position for 40k, which made more sense for us... and would be way better for you. When we sell the show by the end of March, we expect to get 2X to 3X return. With those numbers, your 40k would get you back 100k to 150k – while your 12,500 will get you back 50k to 75k – not bad, but certainly a BIG DIFFERENCE! If you want to put in 40k, I will honor the agreement to give you a 50k position. Or you can stay with the 12,500, that is entirely up to you. Just know that as of January 24th, there will be no more room for any additional funds for the show. ] Despite Snyder’s aggressive efforts to induce this individual to invest more, he only invested $12,500. 30. As founder and President of Legendary Partners, Snyder knew, or was reckless in not knowing, that the above-described profit projections had no reasonable factual basis and were materially false and misleading. Defendants’ profit projections 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 and investment returns, moreover, were material to reasonable investors. 31. As President and control person of Legendary Partners, Snyder’s scienter, conduct, and statements are imputed to Legendary Partners. B. Investor Funds Were Misappropriated by Defendants through Activities that Were Outside of the Designated Use of Proceeds. 32. Legendary Partners and Snyder misappropriated investor funds in two ways. First, Defendants took funds that investors wished to invest in other offerings and deposited that money into Legendary Partner’s bank accounts—an outright misappropriation. Second, Defendants misappropriated a significant portion of investor funds intended for Legendary Partners by using that money in a manner that was not disclosed to investors. 1. Misappropriation of Funds Meant for Other Offerings. 33. From February 2018 through July 2019, Legendary Partners and Snyder misappropriated investments totaling $35,700 from five investors. Even though these investors had each invested in an entirely different offering than Legendary Partners, their funds were deposited into one of Legendary Partners’ accounts. Snyder was responsible for soliciting and misappropriating investments totaling $20,700 from three of those investors. 34. Specifically, Snyder solicited a $7,500 investment from one investor for shares in an unrelated offering called Biosynetics. In a January 3, 2019 email from Snyder (posing as “Bill Miller, V.P. Client Relations, Biosynetics”) with the subject line “Information on our Pharmaceutical company and Instructions,” Snyder provided the prospective investor with a business plan and other company material and provided news regarding “our product SOMNUS VI” (which was Biosynetics’ purported sleep agent product). Finally, he falsely claimed that Legendary Partners was Biosynetics’ “transfer agent” and then directed the investor to wire $7,500 to one of Legendary Partners’ bank accounts. 35. On January 4, 2019, following Snyder’s instructions, the Biosynetics 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 investor wired funds to Legendary Partners and received a share certificate for 7,500 shares of Biosynetics. Snyder did not, however, transfer this money to Biosynetics’ account but rather misappropriated it. When the person at the call center responsible for spearheading the Biosynetics offering learned of Snyder’s misappropriation, he and Snyder had a “falling out from the stealing [of the Biosynetics investment funds].” 36. When Snyder was asked questions about Biosynetics under oath during SEC testimony, he asserted his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. 37. Snyder misappropriated another investor’s $10,000 investment in another unrelated offering by Incorporated Productions by directing the investor to make his checks out to Legendary Partners, LLC. 38. Snyder told the Incorporated Productions investor to make out two checks to “Legendary Partners, LLC” for $5,000 each. On January 23, 2019, the investor wrote a check with a “For” line that stated “Stock – Incorporated Productions.” On July 25, 2019, the investor wrote a second check with a “For” line that stated “Incorporated Productions stock.” Although the investor intended that these funds be used for the purchase of stock in Incorporated Productions, Snyder misappropriated the $10,000 by depositing the checks into Legendary Partners’ bank account. 39. Snyder similarly misappropriated $3,200 from a third investor who also intended to invest money in Incorporated Productions. This investor believed that Incorporated Productions was a movie production company then working on a movie about NASCAR racer Bobby Allison and another film, “Sons of the Cross,” in which the company purportedly was seeking to hire either Jeremy Renner or Matt McConaughey as the lead actor. 40. Snyder accomplished this theft by sending an e-mail to the investor that directed the investor to wire funds to a Legendary Partners bank account. Snyder repeated the same lie to this investor (that he also had told to the Biosynetics investor) about Legendary Partners purportedly being a “stock transfer agent.” 41. On February 19, 2019, following Snyder’s directions, the investor wired 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 $3,200 to Legendary Partners (on behalf of his wife). His wife, on or about February 15, 2019, then separately wired another $6,800 from her 401(k) account to Incorporated Productions, for a purported $10,000 combined investment in Incorporated Productions. Although all of the offering documents received by the investor were for Incorporated Productions, Snyder did not invest any of the $3,200 in that company as the investor intended but instead misappropriated it. 42. When Snyder was asked questions about Incorporated Productions under oath during SEC testimony, he asserted his Fifth Amendment rights against self- incrimination. 2. Misuse of Proceeds. 43. From April 2018 until at least December 2021, a substantial portion of investor funds, however, were not used as promised and therefore were misappropriated. 44. Legendary Partners’ form letter, a version of which Snyder sent to prospective investors during the offering period from April 2018 through December 2021, included as an attachment an Offering Memorandum (“OM”) stating: 45. Snyder sent another investor an OM similarly stating, /// /// /// 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 46. These promises led investors to expect that their investments would be used primarily for video and film production costs. Bank records reflect, however, that most investor funds were withdrawn as cash for uses that were largely undocumented, including that Snyder was using investor money for his own use. 47. Of the amounts that were not withdrawn as cash, a significant portion was used for retail, restaurant, travel, and gas expenses (approximately $10,000); payments to an energy company unrelated to Legendary Partners (approximately $6,700); and miscellaneous or unknown expenses (approximately $7,700). 48. There was no disclosure in the OM provided to investors that their investment funds would be taken out as cash or used for salaries. THE STATUTORY PERIOD HAS BEEN TOLLED 49. On February 1, 2023, Snyder executed a “Tolling Agreement” on behalf of himself and on behalf of Legendary Partners, LLC (as its President) tolling and suspending the period beginning on February 1, 2023 through April 1, 2023. 50. On March 30, 2023, Snyder executed an additional “Tolling Agreement” on behalf of himself and on behalf of Legendary Partners, LLC (as its President) tolling and suspending the period beginning on February 1, 2023 through May 15, 2023. 51. On April 17, 2023, Snyder executed an additional “Tolling Agreement” on behalf of himself and on behalf of Legendary Partners, LLC (as its President) tolling and suspending the period beginning on February 1, 2023 through July 31, 2023. 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF Fraud in Violation of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 Thereunder (Against Both Defendants) 52. The Commission realleges and reincorporates paragraphs 1 through 51 as if fully set forth herein. 53. As set forth above, Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder knew, or were reckless in not knowing that, they made materially untrue and misleading misstatements and omissions to investors in the offer and sale of securities and misappropriated investor funds. By engaging in the conduct described above, Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder directly or indirectly, in connection with the purchase or sale of securities, by use of the means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or the mails, or the facilities of a national securities exchange: (a) employed devices, schemes or artifices to defraud; (b) made untrue statements of material facts or omitted to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and/or (c) engaged in acts, practices, or courses of business which operated or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person in connection with the purchase or sale of any security. 54. By engaging in the conduct described above, Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder violated, and unless restrained and enjoined will continue to violate, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)] and Rule thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5]. SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF Fraud in Violation of Section 17(a)of the Securities Act (Against Both Defendants) 55. The Commission realleges and reincorporates paragraphs 1 through 51 as if fully set forth herein. 56. By engaging in the conduct described above, Defendants Legendary 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Partners and Snyder, singly or in concert with others, in connection with the offer or sale of securities, by use of the means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or of the mails, or a facility of a national securities exchange, directly or indirectly: (a) employed devices, schemes, or artifices to defraud; (b) made untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or (c) engaged in acts, practices, or courses of business which operated or would have operated as a fraud or deceit upon persons. 57. By engaging in the conduct described above, Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder, violated, and unless restrained and enjoined will continue to violate, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77q(a). PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, the Commission respectfully requests that the Court enter Final Judgments: (a) Permanently enjoining Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder, and those persons in active concert or participation with any of them, who receive actual notice of the judgment by personal service or otherwise, and each of them, from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)], Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)], and Rule 10b-5 thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5]; (b) Permanently enjoining Snyder from directly or indirectly, including, but not limited to, through any entity owned or controlled by him, participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security, provided, however, that such injunction shall not prevent him from purchasing or selling securities for his own personal account; (c) Ordering that Defendant Snyder be barred from serving as an officer and director of a public issuer pursuant to Section 20(e) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77t(e)] and Section 21(d)(2) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(2)].; 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 (d) Ordering Defendants to disgorge all ill-gotten gains obtained within the statute of limitations, together with prejudgment interest thereon, pursuant to Section 21(d)(3), (d)(5) and 21(d)(7) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. §§ 78u(d)(3), 78u(d)(5) and 78u(d)(7)]. (e) Ordering Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder to pay civil penalties pursuant to Securities Act Section 20(d) [15 U.S.C. § 77t(d)] and Exchange Act Section 21(d) [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)]; (f) Retain jurisdiction of this action in accordance with the principles of equity and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in order to implement and carry out the terms of all orders and decrees that may be entered, or to entertain any suitable application or motion for additional relief within the jurisdiction of this Court; and (g) Grant such other relief to the Commission as the Court may deem just and proper. DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 38, the Commission demands trial by jury. Dated: July 18, 2023 /s/ Gary Y. Leung Gary Y.Leung Dean M. Conway Carolyn Kurr Attorneys for Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission 7/18/23, 7:58 AMCM/ECF - California Central District https://ecf.cacd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Dispatch.pl?1126618674635391/1 Complaints and Other Initiating Documents 8:23-cv-01282 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Legendary Partners, LLC et al UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA Notice of Electronic Filing The following transaction was entered by Leung, Gary on 7/18/2023 at 7:58 AM PDT and filed on 7/18/2023 Case Name:Securities and Exchange Commission v. Legendary Partners, LLC et al Case Number:8:23-cv-01282 Filer:Securities and Exchange Commission Document Number:1 Docket Text: COMPLAINT No Fee Required - US Government, filed by Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission. (Attorney Gary Y. Leung added to party Securities and Exchange Commission(pty:pla))(Leung, Gary) 8:23-cv-01282 Notice has been electronically mailed to: Gary Y. Leung [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 8:23-cv-01282 Notice has been delivered by First Class U. S. Mail or by other means BY THE FILER to : The following document(s) are associated with this transaction: Document description:Main Document Original filename:C:\fakepath\Legendary Partners Complaint.pdf Electronic document Stamp: [STAMP cacdStamp_ID=1020290914 [Date=7/18/2023] [FileNumber=36201241-0 ] [5f093ab6eac4ab48cdf00aefe608966529913b33b6cd29b83f1247ccbadec59d421 9f326342afbb566f2b1883c640fe04a6459a4e34e9b475d206efcf0731d37]]
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DEAN M. CONWAY (DC Bar 457433) pro hac vice pending Email: [email protected] CAROLYN KURR (Maryland Bar No. 9512130114) pro hac vice pending Email: [email protected] Attorneys for Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, NE Washington, DC 20549 Telephone: (202) 551-4412 Facsimile: (202) 772-9245 LOCAL COUNSEL: GARY Y. LEUNG (Cal. Bar No. 302928) 444 S. Flower Street, Suite 900 Securities and Exchange Commission Los Angeles, California 90071 Email: [email protected] Phone: (323) 965-3998 Fax: (213) 443-1904 Attorneys for Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, Plaintiff, vs. LEGENDARY PARTNERS, LLC AND SCOTT L. SNYDER, Defendants. Case No. COMPLAINT DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 1 of 16 Page ID #:1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) alleges: JURISDICTION AND VENUE 1. The Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to Sections 20(b), 20(d), and 22(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) [15 U.S.C. §§ 77t(b), 77t(d), and 77v(a)] and Sections 21(d) and 27(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) [15 U.S.C. §§ 78u(d) and 78aa]. 2. Defendants have, directly or indirectly, made use of the means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce and of the mails in connection with the acts, practices, and courses of business alleged in this complaint. 3. Venue is proper in this district pursuant to Section 22(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77v(a)] and Section 27(a) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78aa] because certain of the acts, practices, and courses of conduct constituting violations of the federal securities laws occurred within this district. Defendant Scott L. Snyder resides within the Central District of California, and at least one of the victims of the fraud alleged herein resides within this district. SUMMARY 4. From April 2018 through December 2021, Legendary Partners LLC (“Legendary Partners”) and its founder and President, Scott L. Snyder (“Snyder”), engaged in a nationwide offering fraud that targeted mostly elderly investors and raised approximately $391,000. The offering was pitched as an opportunity to invest in a start-up company that purportedly would produce a reality-television series about the refurbishment of damaged exotic and luxury vehicles. 5. In addition to the solicitation fraud, Snyder also intentionally misdirected money to Legendary Partners from several other investors who intended to invest in different and unrelated offerings. Specifically, these investors intended to invest their money in either a movie production company called Incorporated Productions, or a pharmaceutical company called Biosynetics. Instead of investing the money as promised, Snyder instead tricked these investors into depositing their Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 2 of 16 Page ID #:2 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 money into accounts controlled by Legendary Partners. This money was then misappropriated by Legendary Partners and Snyder. 6. Defendants’ fraud was accomplished through the use of “cold callers”— including Snyder who nearly always concealed his true identity when interacting with investors by using the alias “Bill Miller”—located in Orange County, California. The cold callers would contact the mostly elderly investors by phone and then engage in aggressive sales tactics ladened with materially false and misleading statements. For example, Defendants routinely provided baseless and misleading profit projections designed to entice investors. 7. Finally, a substantial portion of the Legendary Partners’ investor funds was not used as promised. Specifically, Legendary Partners and Snyder withdrew most investor funds as cash and paid salaries out of investor funds even though that use was not disclosed to investors. Snyder also spent investor money on restaurants, retail purchases, travel, and other items. 8. Through this conduct, Legendary Partners and Snyder violated Sections 17(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)] and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b)] and Rule 10b-5 thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5]. 9. The SEC seeks Final Judgments: (a) permanently enjoining Defendants from violating the federal securities laws and rules this Complaint alleges they have violated including a conduct-based injunction enjoining Snyder from participating in future securities offerings; (b) ordering Defendants to disgorge all ill-gotten gains they received as a result of the violations alleged pursuant to Exchange Act Sections 21(d)(3), (d)(5) and 21(d)(7) [15 U.S.C. §§ 78u(d)(3), 78u(d)(5) and 78u(d)(7)], and to pay prejudgment interest thereon; (c) ordering Defendants to pay civil money penalties pursuant to Section 21A of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78u-1]; (d) ordering Defendant Snyder barred from serving as an officer and director of a public securities issuer pursuant to Section 20(e) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77t(e)] and Section 21(d)(2) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(2)]; and (e) ordering Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 3 of 16 Page ID #:3 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 any other and further relief the Court may deem just and proper. DEFENDANTS 10. Legendary Partners is a Wyoming limited liability company organized on November 30, 2017. According to the Wyoming Secretary of State’s website, Legendary Partners is inactive and administratively dissolved, delinquent in payment of its taxes, and its registered agent has resigned. Legendary Partners controlled two bank accounts that received investor funds solicited by Snyder and others. Snyder was a signatory on both accounts. 11. Snyder, age 65, resides in Mission Viejo, California. Snyder was the founder and president of Legendary Partners. He testified that he used the alias “Bill Miller” in his communications with investors during the entire period of the Legendary Partners offering. Snyder asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege in response to certain questions in his SEC testimony, including questions related to his solicitation of Legendary Partners investors. 12. Snyder was also a director of a Nevada-based corporation named Incorporated Productions, which was subject to a Desist and Refrain Order issued on June 11, 2019 by the State of California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, Department of Business Oversight (“Desist and Refrain Order”). The Desist ad Refrain Order found that “[b]ased on the foregoing findings, the Commissioner is of the opinion that the securities offered by . . . Incorporated Productions . . . were offered in this state by means of written or oral communications that included untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in violation of section 25401 of the Corporate Securities Law of 1968.” The Desist and Refrain Order became final on February 27, 2020. /// /// /// Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 4 of 16 Page ID #:4 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 FACTS A. The Legendary Partners Deceptive Investment Scheme Primarily Targeted Elderly Investors and was Facilitated by Snyder’s Use of an Alias. 13. On December 30, 2017, Legendary Partners was incorporated as an LLC in Wyoming. Snyder started the company, and Snyder came up with its concept. 14. Snyder used Legendary Partners in connection with the production and sale of a television show about the repair and sale of wrecked exotic vehicles. Defendants operated out of a call center located in Orange County, California (“call center”). At first, Snyder held a one third equity interest in Legendary Partners along with two other partners (pursuant undocumented agreements) from the Orange County call center until one of the partners departed. After that departure, Snyder and the remaining partner shared 50% interests in Legendary Partners (undocumented). The remaining partner assisted Snyder in soliciting investors on behalf of Legendary Partners. 15. From April 2018 until at least December 2021, Snyder (and one of his partners from the call center) deceptively concealed their real identities from investors with aliases. At nearly all times, Snyder used the alias “Bill Miller” when communicating with Legendary Partners investors, and investors did not know his real name. Snyder used this alias to conceal his association with his remaining call center partner, who was a securities law recidivist, as well as to conceal his role as a director at Incorporated Productions, which in June 2019 became the subject of the Desist and Cease Order. 16. Snyder and others solicited investments in Legendary Partners from 21 mainly elderly investors. Of these 21 investors, over 75% were in their seventies or older, many in their 80s and 90s, and only five investors were in their 60s or younger. Similarly, of the five investors who invested in other offerings (but whose investments were wrongly deposited into bank accounts controlled by Legendary Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 5 of 16 Page ID #:5 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Partners), all but one was in their 70s or 80s. 17. From April 2018 through December 2021, Snyder and other individuals in the Orange County call center solicited investors on behalf of Legendary Partners and raised approximately $391,000 from approximately 21 investors. Snyder was responsible for raising approximately $246,000 of the $391,000 received from at least eleven Legendary Partners investors. 18. From February 2018 through July 2019, Legendary Partners and Snyder solicited an additional $35,700 from five investors for investments in two other offerings that were unrelated to Legendary Partners. Snyder was personally responsible for raising $20,700 from at least 3 of the 5. Rather than deposit those investor funds into bank accounts associated with those offerings, he instead misappropriated the investments by directing investors to send their funds directly to a Legendary Partners bank account or caused the funds to be deposited into one of the accounts controlled by Legendary Partners. 1. Defendants Used Deceptive Sales Tactics That Included Offering Quick and Improbable Returns. 19. From February 1, 2018 until December 13, 2021, Snyder and others used deceptive sales tactics to pressure investors to invest in Legendary Partners. For example, a form letter that Legendary Partners and Snyder sent to investors stated that: [W]e will begin to submit the show to the Networks and Production Companies to sell in the next 60-90 days on a 1-3 season deal for a quick turn-around with an upfront payback to our Equity Partners. (emphasis original) 20. During the period from February 2018 through December 2021, Snyder sent a version of the form letter referenced immediately above to potential investors before their investments. Snyder signed the letter as “Bill Miller, Legendary Partners, LLC, Executive Producer – Salvage Wars TV Car Show.” 21. During the period of June 2018 through January 2021, Snyder similarly Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 6 of 16 Page ID #:6 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 told at least six Legendary Partners investors that it would take only “a few months” or “three to six months” for them to start earning a return on their investment. This quick time frame for making a return on the investment was especially important to elderly investors—as one 90-year old investor explained, he “doesn’t want to wait around forever due to his advanced age.” 22. Snyder and Legendary Partners also promised baseless and inflated returns for a concept television simply because: Netflix and all the other streaming services were spending billions of dollars to buy anything and everything just to fill in air time in competition for subscribers. They didn’t care if it was good or bad or the premise of the show.… So why wouldn’t I believe that my show that was far [more] interesting would be bought just as much as a show about popping pimples [an apparent reference to the Netflix show Dr. Pimple Popper]? 23. Defendants knew, or were reckless in not knowing, that there was no legitimate factual basis for the profit projections that they used to entice investors. Indeed, Defendants knew that their profit projections were materially misleading. 24. Snyder and Legendary Partners included similar exaggerated and unsupported profit projections in Legendary Partners Offering Memoranda (“OM”). Defendants had multiple versions of the OM that were similar but not identical. One of the OM that was provided to investors contained the following baseless projections: /// /// /// /// /// /// /// Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 7 of 16 Page ID #:7 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 25. On November 12, 2019, Snyder emailed two investors an iteration of the OM that concluded by stating “With only 5 Seasons, we expect to generate in excess of $18,000,000!” (emphasis original). In addition, the version of the OM that these two investors received did not contain the statement (supra at ¶ 24, line 14) that “These are estimates only. No guarantee or results are implied.” 26. In November and December 2019, Snyder told another Legendary Partners investor that although he could guarantee anything and that there was risk involved, the prospective investor would make a 50% profit in 3-6 months. 27. On March 13, 2020, Snyder told yet another investor that if HBO or YouTube picked up the show, it would generate $1 million in profits to be split between the partners. /// /// /// Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 8 of 16 Page ID #:8 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 28. Snyder told another Legendary Partners investor “to expect 10-15% return on an ongoing basis, in addition to a dividend (which was not known), as long as they produced the movie with my money.” 29. On January 28, 2020, Snyder also sent the same investor an undated email that contained exaggerated profit projections, explained that the investor was being offered a highly reduced price for his investment, and indicated that these sales were a limited time offer. Snyder wrote that another individual at the call center had “overstepped his authority today when he offered you a 25k position for 12,500, but of course, we will honor his offer to you.” Snyder then tried to induce the prospective investor to invest even more than the $12,500 he originally contemplated: I originally told [the other individual at the call center] that you are a good, long time client and have been waiting a long time for Inc[orporated] Prod[uctions] to come to fruition and that he should give you a 50k position for 40k, which made more sense for us… and would be way better for you. When we sell the show by the end of March, we expect to get 2X to 3X return. With those numbers, your 40k would get you back 100k to 150k – while your 12,500 will get you back 50k to 75k – not bad, but certainly a BIG DIFFERENCE! If you want to put in 40k, I will honor the agreement to give you a 50k position. Or you can stay with the 12,500, that is entirely up to you. Just know that as of January 24th, there will be no more room for any additional funds for the show. ] Despite Snyder’s aggressive efforts to induce this individual to invest more, he only invested $12,500. 30. As founder and President of Legendary Partners, Snyder knew, or was reckless in not knowing, that the above-described profit projections had no reasonable factual basis and were materially false and misleading. Defendants’ profit projections Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 9 of 16 Page ID #:9 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 and investment returns, moreover, were material to reasonable investors. 31. As President and control person of Legendary Partners, Snyder’s scienter, conduct, and statements are imputed to Legendary Partners. B. Investor Funds Were Misappropriated by Defendants through Activities that Were Outside of the Designated Use of Proceeds. 32. Legendary Partners and Snyder misappropriated investor funds in two ways. First, Defendants took funds that investors wished to invest in other offerings and deposited that money into Legendary Partner’s bank accounts—an outright misappropriation. Second, Defendants misappropriated a significant portion of investor funds intended for Legendary Partners by using that money in a manner that was not disclosed to investors. 1. Misappropriation of Funds Meant for Other Offerings. 33. From February 2018 through July 2019, Legendary Partners and Snyder misappropriated investments totaling $35,700 from five investors. Even though these investors had each invested in an entirely different offering than Legendary Partners, their funds were deposited into one of Legendary Partners’ accounts. Snyder was responsible for soliciting and misappropriating investments totaling $20,700 from three of those investors. 34. Specifically, Snyder solicited a $7,500 investment from one investor for shares in an unrelated offering called Biosynetics. In a January 3, 2019 email from Snyder (posing as “Bill Miller, V.P. Client Relations, Biosynetics”) with the subject line “Information on our Pharmaceutical company and Instructions,” Snyder provided the prospective investor with a business plan and other company material and provided news regarding “our product SOMNUS VI” (which was Biosynetics’ purported sleep agent product). Finally, he falsely claimed that Legendary Partners was Biosynetics’ “transfer agent” and then directed the investor to wire $7,500 to one of Legendary Partners’ bank accounts. 35. On January 4, 2019, following Snyder’s instructions, the Biosynetics Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 10 of 16 Page ID #:10 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 investor wired funds to Legendary Partners and received a share certificate for 7,500 shares of Biosynetics. Snyder did not, however, transfer this money to Biosynetics’ account but rather misappropriated it. When the person at the call center responsible for spearheading the Biosynetics offering learned of Snyder’s misappropriation, he and Snyder had a “falling out from the stealing [of the Biosynetics investment funds].” 36. When Snyder was asked questions about Biosynetics under oath during SEC testimony, he asserted his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. 37. Snyder misappropriated another investor’s $10,000 investment in another unrelated offering by Incorporated Productions by directing the investor to make his checks out to Legendary Partners, LLC. 38. Snyder told the Incorporated Productions investor to make out two checks to “Legendary Partners, LLC” for $5,000 each. On January 23, 2019, the investor wrote a check with a “For” line that stated “Stock – Incorporated Productions.” On July 25, 2019, the investor wrote a second check with a “For” line that stated “Incorporated Productions stock.” Although the investor intended that these funds be used for the purchase of stock in Incorporated Productions, Snyder misappropriated the $10,000 by depositing the checks into Legendary Partners’ bank account. 39. Snyder similarly misappropriated $3,200 from a third investor who also intended to invest money in Incorporated Productions. This investor believed that Incorporated Productions was a movie production company then working on a movie about NASCAR racer Bobby Allison and another film, “Sons of the Cross,” in which the company purportedly was seeking to hire either Jeremy Renner or Matt McConaughey as the lead actor. 40. Snyder accomplished this theft by sending an e-mail to the investor that directed the investor to wire funds to a Legendary Partners bank account. Snyder repeated the same lie to this investor (that he also had told to the Biosynetics investor) about Legendary Partners purportedly being a “stock transfer agent.” 41. On February 19, 2019, following Snyder’s directions, the investor wired Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 11 of 16 Page ID #:11 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 $3,200 to Legendary Partners (on behalf of his wife). His wife, on or about February 15, 2019, then separately wired another $6,800 from her 401(k) account to Incorporated Productions, for a purported $10,000 combined investment in Incorporated Productions. Although all of the offering documents received by the investor were for Incorporated Productions, Snyder did not invest any of the $3,200 in that company as the investor intended but instead misappropriated it. 42. When Snyder was asked questions about Incorporated Productions under oath during SEC testimony, he asserted his Fifth Amendment rights against self- incrimination. 2. Misuse of Proceeds. 43. From April 2018 until at least December 2021, a substantial portion of investor funds, however, were not used as promised and therefore were misappropriated. 44. Legendary Partners’ form letter, a version of which Snyder sent to prospective investors during the offering period from April 2018 through December 2021, included as an attachment an Offering Memorandum (“OM”) stating: 45. Snyder sent another investor an OM similarly stating, /// /// /// Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 12 of 16 Page ID #:12 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 46. These promises led investors to expect that their investments would be used primarily for video and film production costs. Bank records reflect, however, that most investor funds were withdrawn as cash for uses that were largely undocumented, including that Snyder was using investor money for his own use. 47. Of the amounts that were not withdrawn as cash, a significant portion was used for retail, restaurant, travel, and gas expenses (approximately $10,000); payments to an energy company unrelated to Legendary Partners (approximately $6,700); and miscellaneous or unknown expenses (approximately $7,700). 48. There was no disclosure in the OM provided to investors that their investment funds would be taken out as cash or used for salaries. THE STATUTORY PERIOD HAS BEEN TOLLED 49. On February 1, 2023, Snyder executed a “Tolling Agreement” on behalf of himself and on behalf of Legendary Partners, LLC (as its President) tolling and suspending the period beginning on February 1, 2023 through April 1, 2023. 50. On March 30, 2023, Snyder executed an additional “Tolling Agreement” on behalf of himself and on behalf of Legendary Partners, LLC (as its President) tolling and suspending the period beginning on February 1, 2023 through May 15, 2023. 51. On April 17, 2023, Snyder executed an additional “Tolling Agreement” on behalf of himself and on behalf of Legendary Partners, LLC (as its President) tolling and suspending the period beginning on February 1, 2023 through July 31, 2023. Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 13 of 16 Page ID #:13 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF Fraud in Violation of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 Thereunder (Against Both Defendants) 52. The Commission realleges and reincorporates paragraphs 1 through 51 as if fully set forth herein. 53. As set forth above, Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder knew, or were reckless in not knowing that, they made materially untrue and misleading misstatements and omissions to investors in the offer and sale of securities and misappropriated investor funds. By engaging in the conduct described above, Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder directly or indirectly, in connection with the purchase or sale of securities, by use of the means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or the mails, or the facilities of a national securities exchange: (a) employed devices, schemes or artifices to defraud; (b) made untrue statements of material facts or omitted to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and/or (c) engaged in acts, practices, or courses of business which operated or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person in connection with the purchase or sale of any security. 54. By engaging in the conduct described above, Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder violated, and unless restrained and enjoined will continue to violate, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)] and Rule thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5]. SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF Fraud in Violation of Section 17(a)of the Securities Act (Against Both Defendants) 55. The Commission realleges and reincorporates paragraphs 1 through 51 as if fully set forth herein. 56. By engaging in the conduct described above, Defendants Legendary Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 14 of 16 Page ID #:14 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Partners and Snyder, singly or in concert with others, in connection with the offer or sale of securities, by use of the means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or of the mails, or a facility of a national securities exchange, directly or indirectly: (a) employed devices, schemes, or artifices to defraud; (b) made untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or (c) engaged in acts, practices, or courses of business which operated or would have operated as a fraud or deceit upon persons. 57. By engaging in the conduct described above, Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder, violated, and unless restrained and enjoined will continue to violate, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77q(a). PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, the Commission respectfully requests that the Court enter Final Judgments: (a) Permanently enjoining Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder, and those persons in active concert or participation with any of them, who receive actual notice of the judgment by personal service or otherwise, and each of them, from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)], Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)], and Rule 10b-5 thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5]; (b) Permanently enjoining Snyder from directly or indirectly, including, but not limited to, through any entity owned or controlled by him, participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security, provided, however, that such injunction shall not prevent him from purchasing or selling securities for his own personal account; (c) Ordering that Defendant Snyder be barred from serving as an officer and director of a public issuer pursuant to Section 20(e) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77t(e)] and Section 21(d)(2) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(2)].; Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 15 of 16 Page ID #:15 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 (d) Ordering Defendants to disgorge all ill-gotten gains obtained within the statute of limitations, together with prejudgment interest thereon, pursuant to Section 21(d)(3), (d)(5) and 21(d)(7) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. §§ 78u(d)(3), 78u(d)(5) and 78u(d)(7)]. (e) Ordering Defendants Legendary Partners and Snyder to pay civil penalties pursuant to Securities Act Section 20(d) [15 U.S.C. § 77t(d)] and Exchange Act Section 21(d) [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)]; (f) Retain jurisdiction of this action in accordance with the principles of equity and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in order to implement and carry out the terms of all orders and decrees that may be entered, or to entertain any suitable application or motion for additional relief within the jurisdiction of this Court; and (g) Grant such other relief to the Commission as the Court may deem just and proper. DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 38, the Commission demands trial by jury. Dated: July 18, 2023 /s/ Gary Y. Leung Gary Y.Leung Dean M. Conway Carolyn Kurr Attorneys for Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission Case 8:23-cv-01282 Document 1 Filed 07/18/23 Page 16 of 16 Page ID #:16 7/18/23, 7:58 AM CM/ECF - California Central District https://ecf.cacd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Dispatch.pl?112661867463539 1/1 Complaints and Other Initiating Documents 8:23-cv-01282 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Legendary Partners, LLC et al UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA Notice of Electronic Filing The following transaction was entered by Leung, Gary on 7/18/2023 at 7:58 AM PDT and filed on 7/18/2023 Case Name: Securities and Exchange Commission v. Legendary Partners, LLC et al Case Number: 8:23-cv-01282 Filer: Securities and Exchange Commission Document Number:1 Docket Text: COMPLAINT No Fee Required - US Government, filed by Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission. (Attorney Gary Y. Leung added to party Securities and Exchange Commission(pty:pla))(Leung, Gary) 8:23-cv-01282 Notice has been electronically mailed to: Gary Y. Leung [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 8:23-cv-01282 Notice has been delivered by First Class U. S. Mail or by other means BY THE FILER to : The following document(s) are associated with this transaction: Document description:Main Document Original filename:C:\fakepath\Legendary Partners Complaint.pdf Electronic document Stamp: [STAMP cacdStamp_ID=1020290914 [Date=7/18/2023] [FileNumber=36201241-0 ] [5f093ab6eac4ab48cdf00aefe608966529913b33b6cd29b83f1247ccbadec59d421 9f326342afbb566f2b1883c640fe04a6459a4e34e9b475d206efcf0731d37]] https://ecf.cacd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/DktRpt.pl?891827 https://ecf.cacd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/DktRpt.pl?891827 https://ecf.cacd.uscourts.gov/doc1/031140444589?caseid=891827&de_seq_num=4&magic_num=MAGIC