SEC.gov | SEC Announces Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Amish Fund
summary
The Amish Helping Fund (AHF), a non-profit that issued unregistered investment contracts to fund Amish mortgages, avoided SEC enforcement by swiftly correcting a 15-year-old misleading offering memorandum, offering investor rescission, and agreeing to audits and registration, despite no evidence of investor losses or foreclosures.
paragraph
The SEC alleged that the Amish Helping Fund (AHF) violated federal securities laws by using an outdated 1995 offering memorandum that contained material misrepresentations and was not updated for 15 years, affecting nearly 3,500 investors and $125 million in mortgage receivables. Although no investor losses or foreclosures were found, AHF immediately cooperated by updating its offering materials, offering rescission rights to all investors, retaining an independent CPA for annual audits, and registering with Ohio securities regulators. In recognition of its remedial actions and cooperation under the SEC’s 2010 Cooperation Initiative, the SEC entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement, agreeing not to file enforcement action if AHF continues to comply with ongoing disclosure and audit requirements.
narrative
The Amish Helping Fund (AHF), a non-profit established in 1995 to provide mortgage and construction loans to Amish families in Ohio, violated federal securities laws by failing to update its offering memorandum for 15 years, resulting in material misrepresentations to nearly 3,500 investors. Despite managing approximately $125 million in mortgage receivables and serving over 1,200 borrowers, the SEC found no evidence of investor losses or any foreclosures during AHF’s history. Upon being notified by the SEC, AHF immediately took comprehensive remedial steps: it updated and corrected its offering materials, offered all existing investors the right of rescission, retained an independent certified public accountant to conduct annual audits, and registered its securities offerings with the Ohio Division of Securities. The SEC acknowledged AHF’s prompt and complete cooperation under its 2010 Cooperation Initiative, which rewards entities that self-correct and prevent future violations. As a result, the SEC entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), agreeing not to pursue enforcement action provided AHF continues to comply with ongoing obligations, including timely financial disclosures and annual audits. This outcome reflects the SEC’s willingness to prioritize remediation and cooperation over punitive measures when no harm is demonstrated and systemic compliance is restored.
Classified unregistered-securities(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D/S-1· recall 41% / precision 30%. detection rule →
Parties
deferred prosecution agreement with amish funddpa with the secenforcement action against ahfits offering memorandumits securities offerings with the ohio division of securitiesnew securities offeringsrobert khuzamiSecurities and Exchange Commissionwith the sec
Keywords
secahfsecuritiesdeferred prosecutionprosecution agreementfundinvestorsgovagreementamishoffering memorandumannounces deferredagreement amishamish funddeferred
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 1
- $125.00M $125 million $100M–$1B
Entities 9
- company deferred prosecution agreement with amish fund
- agency dpa with the sec
- person enforcement action against ahf
- person its offering memorandum
- company its securities offerings with the ohio division of securities
- person new securities offerings
- person robert khuzami
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- agency with the sec
Triples 17
- Sec Announces Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Amish Fund
- Sec Investigated Amish Helping Fund (AHF)
- Sec Alleges AHF’s offering memorandum was not updated for 15 years
- Sec Found No evidence that AHF investors suffered any undue harm
- AHF Cooperated With the SEC
- AHF Updated Its offering memorandum
- AHF Took Other significant remedial steps
- Sec Entered into Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA)
- Sec Will not file Enforcement action against AHF
- AHF Entered into DPA with the SEC
- Robert Khuzami Said Cooperation provides real and substantial benefits
- AHF Offered All existing investors the right of rescission
- AHF Retained Independent certified public accountant
- AHF Registered Its securities offerings with the Ohio Division of Securities
- Sec Will refrain from filing Enforcement action against AHF
- AHF Agreed to register New securities offerings
- Sec Conducted Investigation by Brian D. Fagel, John J. Sikora, Jr.
PDF (from attached: pdf)
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Extracted body text (4,287c)
Skip to search field Skip to main content <iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-TD3BKV" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe> An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know Here’s how you know Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. SEC homepage Menu Newsroom | Investors Small Businesses Whistleblowers Search SEC.gov & EDGAR Search More in this Section Press Release SEC Announces Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Amish Fund For Immediate Release 2012-138 Washington, D.C., July 18, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a non-profit corporation that offers securities to fund mortgage and construction loans to young Amish families in Ohio will ensure that its investors receive more timely and accurate information under an agreement reached with the SEC. The SEC investigated the Amish Helping Fund (AHF), which was formed in 1995 by a group of Amish elders interested in furthering the Amish way of life. AHF funds its loans by selling securities in the form of investment contracts. The SEC alleges that AHF’s offering memorandum, drafted in 1995, was not updated for 15 years and thus contained material misrepresentations about the fund and the securities being offered. Despite violating federal securities laws by disseminating a stale offering memorandum, the SEC found no evidence that AHF investors suffered any undue harm or investment losses as a result of these misrepresentations. When informed of its alleged violations by the SEC, AHF immediately cooperated, updated its offering memorandum, and took other significant remedial steps in an expedited manner. Therefore, the SEC has entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) and will not file an enforcement action against AHF provided it adheres to the provisions of the agreement. AHF is entering into a DPA with the SEC as part of the Cooperation Initiative the Enforcement Division announced in 2010 to facilitate and reward cooperation in SEC investigations. “Cooperation provides real and substantial benefits for companies that respond appropriately to the discovery of wrongdoing in their ranks,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Here, the SEC acknowledged and rewarded AHF’s cooperation because, among other things, it acted swiftly and completely in correcting the misleading statements provided to investors, agreeing to annual audits of the fund holding the securities, and implementing significant remedial measures to prevent future violations of the securities laws.” AHF currently has nearly 3,500 investors, more than 1,200 borrowers, and approximately $125 million in mortgage receivables. The SEC staff has not found any evidence of a foreclosure during AHF’s history. When the SEC informed AHF of its wrongful conduct, the fund immediately took steps to remedy the situation: AHF updated and corrected its offering memorandum and provided existing investors with a corrected copy of it. AHF offered all existing investors the right of rescission. AHF retained an independent certified public accountant to perform ongoing audits. AHF registered its securities offerings with the Ohio Division of Securities and consented to a cease-and-desist order with the agency. Under the terms of the DPA, the SEC will refrain from filing an enforcement action against AHF if the company complies with certain undertakings. Among other things, AHF has updated and corrected its offering materials and agreed to register its new securities offerings and provide current investors with timely and accurate financial information. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Brian D. Fagel, John J. Sikora, Jr., and James L. Silverwood in the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office. ### Last Reviewed or Updated: July 28, 2014 Resources Deferred Prosecution Agreement Return to top SEC homepage Stay connected. Sign up for email updates. Your email address Sign Up X Facebook Instagram RSS YouTube Email Updates
OCR text (4,287c · plain-text · 99% conf)
Skip to search field Skip to main content <iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-TD3BKV" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe> An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know Here’s how you know Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. SEC homepage Menu Newsroom | Investors Small Businesses Whistleblowers Search SEC.gov & EDGAR Search More in this Section Press Release SEC Announces Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Amish Fund For Immediate Release 2012-138 Washington, D.C., July 18, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a non-profit corporation that offers securities to fund mortgage and construction loans to young Amish families in Ohio will ensure that its investors receive more timely and accurate information under an agreement reached with the SEC. The SEC investigated the Amish Helping Fund (AHF), which was formed in 1995 by a group of Amish elders interested in furthering the Amish way of life. AHF funds its loans by selling securities in the form of investment contracts. The SEC alleges that AHF’s offering memorandum, drafted in 1995, was not updated for 15 years and thus contained material misrepresentations about the fund and the securities being offered. Despite violating federal securities laws by disseminating a stale offering memorandum, the SEC found no evidence that AHF investors suffered any undue harm or investment losses as a result of these misrepresentations. When informed of its alleged violations by the SEC, AHF immediately cooperated, updated its offering memorandum, and took other significant remedial steps in an expedited manner. Therefore, the SEC has entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) and will not file an enforcement action against AHF provided it adheres to the provisions of the agreement. AHF is entering into a DPA with the SEC as part of the Cooperation Initiative the Enforcement Division announced in 2010 to facilitate and reward cooperation in SEC investigations. “Cooperation provides real and substantial benefits for companies that respond appropriately to the discovery of wrongdoing in their ranks,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Here, the SEC acknowledged and rewarded AHF’s cooperation because, among other things, it acted swiftly and completely in correcting the misleading statements provided to investors, agreeing to annual audits of the fund holding the securities, and implementing significant remedial measures to prevent future violations of the securities laws.” AHF currently has nearly 3,500 investors, more than 1,200 borrowers, and approximately $125 million in mortgage receivables. The SEC staff has not found any evidence of a foreclosure during AHF’s history. When the SEC informed AHF of its wrongful conduct, the fund immediately took steps to remedy the situation: AHF updated and corrected its offering memorandum and provided existing investors with a corrected copy of it. AHF offered all existing investors the right of rescission. AHF retained an independent certified public accountant to perform ongoing audits. AHF registered its securities offerings with the Ohio Division of Securities and consented to a cease-and-desist order with the agency. Under the terms of the DPA, the SEC will refrain from filing an enforcement action against AHF if the company complies with certain undertakings. Among other things, AHF has updated and corrected its offering materials and agreed to register its new securities offerings and provide current investors with timely and accurate financial information. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Brian D. Fagel, John J. Sikora, Jr., and James L. Silverwood in the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office. ### Last Reviewed or Updated: July 28, 2014 Resources Deferred Prosecution Agreement Return to top SEC homepage Stay connected. Sign up for email updates. Your email address Sign Up X Facebook Instagram RSS YouTube Email Updates