SEC v. Premium Point Investments LP; and Anilesh Ahuja, No. LR-25532, Southern District of New York (Sept. 28, 2022) — Press Release
raw: Premium Point Investments LP et al.
Premium Point Investments LP et al., No. 1:18-cv-04145 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2022)
summary
The SEC obtained final judgments and a permanent industry bar against Premium Point Investments LP and CEO Anilesh Ahuja for a scheme that inflated fund values by hundreds of millions of dollars.
paragraph
The U.S. District Court entered final judgment against Premium Point Investments LP and Anilesh Ahuja for inflating private fund values by hundreds of millions of dollars. The fraudulent scheme, occurring between 2015 and 2016, involved secret broker deals and improper mid-point valuations to conceal poor performance. Ahuja was ordered to pay a $450,000 civil penalty and was barred from associating with various investment industry entities.
narrative
The SEC successfully obtained final judgments against New York-based investment adviser Premium Point Investments LP and its CEO, Anilesh Ahuja, regarding a fraudulent valuation scheme. Between September 2015 and March 2016, the defendants inflated the value of private funds by hundreds of millions of dollars to conceal poor performance and attract investors. The scheme relied on a secret arrangement with a broker-dealer to receive inflated quotes for mortgage-backed securities and the use of improper 'imputed' mid-point valuations. As a result of the litigation, the court permanently enjoined the defendants from violating multiple federal antifraud provisions. Ahuja was ordered to pay a $450,000 civil penalty and received a permanent bar from associating with investment advisers, brokers, and dealers. The enforcement action was investigated by the SEC's Complex Financial Instruments and Asset Management Units.
Classified investment-adviser-fraud(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms ADV/ADV-E/ADV-W/Form D· recall 33% / precision 13%. detection rule →
Statutes
Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange ActSections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities ActSections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities ActSections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities ActSections 206(1), (2), and (4) of the Investment Advisers ActSections 206(1), (2), and (4) of the Investment Advisers ActSections 206(1), (2), and (4) of the Investment Advisers Act
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionPremium Point Investments LPAmin MajidiFrank Dinucci, Jr.Ashish DoleAnilesh AhujaJeremy Shor
Keywords
premium pointpremiumpointpoint investmentssecuritiesahujainvestmentsseptemberinvestmentinvestments premiumhedge fundvaluation schemesecurities exchangeentered finalfinal against
Exhibits & Attached Documents (2)
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 1
- $450K $450,000 $100K–$1M
Entities 7
- person anilesh ahuja
- person fraudulent valuation scheme
- company inflated broker quotes for mortgage-backed securities
- person osman nawaz
- person premium point investments lp
- agency sec's litigation
- court u.s. district court for the southern district of new york
Triples 9
- SEC obtains judgments and bar against Anilesh Ahuja
- U.S. District Court For The Southern District Of New York entered final judgment against Premium Point Investments LP and Anilesh Ahuja
- Fraudulent Valuation Scheme ran from September 2015 through March 2016
- Premium Point Investments LP received inflated broker quotes for mortgage-backed securities
- Anilesh Ahuja ordered to pay civil penalty of $450,000
- Commission barred Anilesh Ahuja from association with investment advisers and related entities
- SEC's Litigation is led by Lee a. Greenwood and Preethi Krishnamurthy
- Matter was investigated by Division of Enforcement's Complex Financial Instruments and Asset Management Units
- Matter is supervised by Osman Nawaz
PDF (from attached: pdf)
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,438c)
SEC Obtains Judgments and Bar Against Former Hedge Fund CEO Related to Hedge Fund Valuation Scheme Litigation Release No. 25532 / September 28, 2022 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Premium Point Investments LP et al., Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-04145 (S.D.N.Y. filed May 9, 2018) On September 20, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against New York-based investment adviser Premium Point Investments LP and Premium Point's CEO and chief investment officer, Anilesh Ahuja, relating to the inflation of the value of private funds they advised by hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the SEC's complaint, the fraudulent valuation scheme ran from at least September 2015 through March 2016 and relied on a secret deal where in exchange for sending trades to a broker-dealer, Premium Point received inflated broker quotes for mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the defendants used "imputed" mid-point valuations, which were applied in a manner that further inflated the value of securities. This practice boosted the value of many of Premium Point's holdings and further exaggerated returns in order to conceal poor fund performance and attract and retain investors. The Court entered a final judgment against Premium Point and Ahuja by consent, permanently enjoining them from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder, Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Sections 206(1), (2), and (4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Rule 206(4)-8(a)(2) thereunder; permanently enjoining Premium Point from violating Advisers Act Section 206(4) and Rule 206(4)-2 thereunder; and ordering Ahuja to pay a civil penalty of $450,000. On September 28, 2022, the Commission barred Ahuja from association with any investment adviser, broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The SEC's litigation is led by Senior Trial Counsel Lee A. Greenwood and Co-Regional Trial Counsel Preethi Krishnamurthy of the New York Regional Office. The matter was investigated by the Division of Enforcement's Complex Financial Instruments and Asset Management Units, and is supervised by Osman Nawaz, Chief of the Complex Financial Instruments Unit. Final Judgment - Premium Point and Ahuja
OCR text (2,438c · html-text · 99% conf)
SEC Obtains Judgments and Bar Against Former Hedge Fund CEO Related to Hedge Fund Valuation Scheme Litigation Release No. 25532 / September 28, 2022 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Premium Point Investments LP et al., Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-04145 (S.D.N.Y. filed May 9, 2018) On September 20, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against New York-based investment adviser Premium Point Investments LP and Premium Point's CEO and chief investment officer, Anilesh Ahuja, relating to the inflation of the value of private funds they advised by hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the SEC's complaint, the fraudulent valuation scheme ran from at least September 2015 through March 2016 and relied on a secret deal where in exchange for sending trades to a broker-dealer, Premium Point received inflated broker quotes for mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the defendants used "imputed" mid-point valuations, which were applied in a manner that further inflated the value of securities. This practice boosted the value of many of Premium Point's holdings and further exaggerated returns in order to conceal poor fund performance and attract and retain investors. The Court entered a final judgment against Premium Point and Ahuja by consent, permanently enjoining them from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder, Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Sections 206(1), (2), and (4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Rule 206(4)-8(a)(2) thereunder; permanently enjoining Premium Point from violating Advisers Act Section 206(4) and Rule 206(4)-2 thereunder; and ordering Ahuja to pay a civil penalty of $450,000. On September 28, 2022, the Commission barred Ahuja from association with any investment adviser, broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The SEC's litigation is led by Senior Trial Counsel Lee A. Greenwood and Co-Regional Trial Counsel Preethi Krishnamurthy of the New York Regional Office. The matter was investigated by the Division of Enforcement's Complex Financial Instruments and Asset Management Units, and is supervised by Osman Nawaz, Chief of the Complex Financial Instruments Unit. Final Judgment - Premium Point and Ahuja