Securities Professional Charged With Defrauding Institutional Investors
Andrew W.W. Caspersen, a New York-based securities professional, defrauded institutional investors of $25 million by deceiving them into investing in a shell company he controlled, falsely claiming it was affiliated with a legitimate private equity fund, and then stole the funds for personal use, leading to SEC civil charges and parallel criminal prosecution.
Andrew W.W. Caspersen is charged by the SEC with defrauding institutional investors of $25 million by falsely representing that Irving Place III SPV LLC, a shell entity he controlled, was affiliated with the legitimate Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV and would be secured by $900 million in assets. He received the $25 million investment in November 2015 and immediately diverted the funds for personal use, while subsequent attempts to raise an additional $70 million from two investors failed. The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with interest, and civil penalties, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed parallel criminal charges against him.
Andrew W.W. Caspersen, a New York-based securities professional, defrauded institutional investors by soliciting investments in Irving Place III SPV LLC, a shell company he created and controlled, which he falsely presented as affiliated with the legitimate private equity fund Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV. In November 2015, he secured a $25 million investment by falsely claiming the funds would be secured by approximately $900 million in assets belonging to the real fund, and immediately diverted the entire amount for his personal use. He later attempted to solicit an additional $20 million from the first investor and $50 million from a second, but both efforts failed due to the same deceptive representations. The SEC alleges Caspersen’s scheme exploited the similarity in names to mislead sophisticated institutional investors, demonstrating that even well-resourced entities are vulnerable to such fraud. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has filed criminal charges against him. The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction, disgorgement of the $25 million in ill-gotten gains with interest, and monetary penalties, while its investigation remains ongoing. The case is being litigated by Paul Gizzi and James Hanson, supervised by Sanjay Wadhwa, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
- $900.00M $900 million $100M–$1B
- $95.00M $95 million $10M–$100M
- $50.00M $50 million $10M–$100M
- $25.00M $25 million $10M–$100M
- $20.00M $20 million $10M–$100M
- company irving place iii spv llc
- person Sanjay Wadhwa
- agency sec's investigation in the sec's new york office
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- agency U.S. Attorney's Office For The Southern District Of New York
- SEC charged Andrew W.W. Caspersen with defrauding two institutions
- Andrew W.W. Caspersen solicited approximately $95 million from two institutional investors
- Irving Place III SPV LLC is a shell entity formed and controlled by Caspersen
- Andrew W.W. Caspersen obtained $25 million investment in November 2015 from an institutional investor
- Andrew W.W. Caspersen took control of $25 million for his personal use
- Andrew W.W. Caspersen solicited $20 million from the first investor and $50 million from a second
- U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced criminal charges against Andrew W.W. Caspersen
- SEC is seeking permanent injunction, return of ill-gotten gains with interest, and monetary penalties
- Gerald Gross and James Hanson conducted SEC's investigation in the SEC's New York office
- Paul Gizzi and James Hanson will lead the litigation
- Sanjay Wadhwa supervises the case
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a New York-based securities professional with defrauding two institutions he solicited to invest in a shell company he controlled whose name was deceptively similar to that of a legitimate private equity fund. According to the SEC complaint filed in federal district court in Manhattan, Andrew W.W. Caspersen, a New York City resident, solicited approximately $95 million from two institutional investors by offering promissory notes issued by Irving Place III SPV LLC. The complaint alleges that Irving Place III SPV LLC is a shell entity formed and controlled by Caspersen with no legitimate business operations, unlike the similarly named Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV, a legitimate private equity fund not associated in any way with Caspersen. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Caspersen. “As alleged, Caspersen engaged in a brazen fraud by raising money under false pretenses and simply stealing the funds,” said Andrew M. Calamari, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. “This action amply demonstrates that even sophisticated institutional investors are not immune to financial scams.” The SEC complaint also alleges that: · Caspersen obtained a $25 million investment in November 2015 from an institutional investor by falsely representing that the investment would be secured by approximately $900 million of assets of Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV. · Shortly after the investor wired its $25 million investment to Irving Place III SPV LLC’s bank account, Caspersen simply took control of the funds for his personal use. · Using similar false and misleading statements, Caspersen later solicited an additional $20 million from the first investor and $50 million from a second, in both cases unsuccessfully. The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction, return of allegedly ill-gotten gains with interest, and monetary penalties. The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Gerald Gross and James Hanson in the SEC’s New York office. The litigation will be led by Paul Gizzi and Mr. Hanson. The case is being supervised by Sanjay Wadhwa. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a New York-based securities professional with defrauding two institutions he solicited to invest in a shell company he controlled whose name was deceptively similar to that of a legitimate private equity fund. According to the SEC complaint filed in federal district court in Manhattan, Andrew W.W. Caspersen, a New York City resident, solicited approximately $95 million from two institutional investors by offering promissory notes issued by Irving Place III SPV LLC. The complaint alleges that Irving Place III SPV LLC is a shell entity formed and controlled by Caspersen with no legitimate business operations, unlike the similarly named Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV, a legitimate private equity fund not associated in any way with Caspersen. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Caspersen. “As alleged, Caspersen engaged in a brazen fraud by raising money under false pretenses and simply stealing the funds,” said Andrew M. Calamari, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. “This action amply demonstrates that even sophisticated institutional investors are not immune to financial scams.” The SEC complaint also alleges that: · Caspersen obtained a $25 million investment in November 2015 from an institutional investor by falsely representing that the investment would be secured by approximately $900 million of assets of Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV. · Shortly after the investor wired its $25 million investment to Irving Place III SPV LLC’s bank account, Caspersen simply took control of the funds for his personal use. · Using similar false and misleading statements, Caspersen later solicited an additional $20 million from the first investor and $50 million from a second, in both cases unsuccessfully. The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction, return of allegedly ill-gotten gains with interest, and monetary penalties. The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Gerald Gross and James Hanson in the SEC’s New York office. The litigation will be led by Paul Gizzi and Mr. Hanson. The case is being supervised by Sanjay Wadhwa. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.