2021-04-07 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 1,796 chars

SEC v. William C. Skelley; and Sohin S. Shah, No. LR-25066, Southern District of New York (Apr. 7, 2021) — Press Release

raw: William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah, Defendants

William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah, Defendants, No. LR-25066 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 7, 2021)

Caption
SEC v. William C. Skelley, et al.
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summary

William C. Skelley, co‑founder and CEO of Innovational Funding LLC, misappropriated over $1 million of investor funds and made false statements, leading to a permanent injunction and orders to pay $1.07 million in disgorgement, $184,655 in prejudgment interest, and a $1.07 million civil penalty.

paragraph

William C. Skelley, co‑founder and chief executive of Innovational Funding LLC, was accused of diverting more than $1 million of investor money for personal use and providing materially false statements about fund usage, capital raised, and project financing. After failing to respond to the SEC complaint, a default judgment was entered in July 2019 and a final judgment was entered on March 26, 2021, permanently enjoining him from violating antifraud provisions of Sections 17(a) and 10(b). The court ordered Skelley to pay $1,073,746.65 in disgorgement, $184,655.27 in prejudgment interest, and an equal civil penalty of $1,073,746.65.

narrative

William C. Skelley, the co‑founder and CEO of Innovational Funding LLC, operated a real‑estate crowdfunding portal and allegedly misappropriated more than $1 million of investor funds for personal use. He also made materially false or misleading oral and written statements to investors about how the funds would be used, the total capital raised, and the number of projects financed. The SEC filed a complaint on September 26, 2018, alleging violations of the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Skelley failed to answer the complaint, resulting in a default judgment on July 8, 2019, and a final judgment entered by the Southern District of New York on March 26, 2021. The court permanently enjoined him from violating Sections 17(a) of the Securities Act, 10(b) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b‑5, and ordered him to pay $1,073,746.65 in disgorgement, $184,655.27 in prejudgment interest, and a $1,073,746.65 civil penalty. The investigation was led by the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office, with litigation overseen by Doressia L. Hutton and John E. Birkenheier.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
investment-adviser-fraud (95%)
Court
Southern District of New York
Disgorgement
$1,073,747
Civil penalty
$1,073,747
Victim loss
$1,000,000
Entity
William C. Skelley
Classified investment-adviser-fraud(confidence 95%). EDGAR detection: forms ADV/ADV-E/ADV-W/Form D· recall 33% / precision 13%. detection rule →
Statutes
Section 17(a) of the Securities ActSection 10(b) of the Securities Exchange ActRule 10b-5
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionWilliam C. SkelleySohin S. Shah
Keywords
skelleywilliam skelleyskelley sohinsohin shahreal estatewilliamco-founder realestate crowdfundingcrowdfunding portalsecurities exchangeskelley co-founderinvestor fundssohinshahsec

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 3
  • $1.07M $1,073,746 $1M–$10M
  • $1.00M $1 million $1M–$10M
  • $185K $ 184,655 $100K–$1M
Entities 8
  • person final judgment
  • location New York
  • person real estate crowdfunding portal
  • person sohin s. shah
  • agency United States Securities And Exchange Commission
  • court u.s. district court
  • court u.s. district court for the southern district of new york
  • person william c. skelley
Triples 53
  • William C. Skelley committed fraud through a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • SEC obtained final judgment against William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah
  • SEC filed civil action against William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah in the Southern District of New York
  • William C. Skelley founded real estate crowdfunding portal
  • William C. Skelley was charged with fraud
  • Sohin S. Shah co-founded real estate crowdfunding portal
  • SEC obtained final judgment against William C. Skelley
  • SEC obtained final judgment against Sohin S. Shah
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgment March 26, 2021
  • William C. Skelley was a former resident of New York
  • SEC filed civil action September 26, 2018
  • William C. Skelley committed fraud through a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • Sohin S. Shah committed fraud through a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • SEC obtained final judgment against William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah
  • William C. Skelley committed fraud through a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • Sohin S. Shah committed fraud through a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • SEC obtained final judgment against William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah
  • William C. Skelley committed fraud through a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • SEC obtained final judgment against William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah
  • SEC filed civil action against William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah on September 26, 2018
  • SEC obtains final judgment
  • William C. Skelley is co-founder
  • Sohin S. Shah is Defendant
  • William C. Skelley is Defendant
  • U.S. District Court entered final judgment
  • William C. Skelley is former New York resident
  • William C. Skelley committed fraud through a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • Sohin S. Shah committed fraud through a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • SEC obtained final judgment against William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgment against William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah
  • William C. Skelley committed fraud through a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • Sohin S. Shah committed fraud through a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • SEC obtained final judgment against William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah
  • SEC obtains final judgment
  • William C. Skelley is co-founder
  • Sohin S. Shah is Defendant
  • William C. Skelley is Defendant
  • U.S. District Court entered final judgment
  • William C. Skelley is former New York resident
  • SEC obtains final judgment
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgment against William C. Skelley
  • William C. Skelley is co‑founder of a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • Civil Action No. 18-CV-8803 filed September 26, 2018
  • Litigation Release No. 25066 dated April 7, 2021
  • United States Securities and Exchange Commission sued William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah
  • SEC obtains final judgment
  • SEC concludes fraud case against co-founder
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgment against William C. Skelley
  • William C. Skelley is co-founder of a real estate crowdfunding portal
  • William C. Skelley entered a final judgment
  • SEC obtains final judgment
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgment against William C. Skelley
  • William C. Skelley is co-founder of a real estate crowdfunding portal
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Plaintiff, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), for its · Source
Text layers
Extracted body text (1,796c) 
SEC Obtains Final Judgment Concluding Fraud Case Against Co-Founder of Real Estate Crowdfunding Portal Litigation Release No. 25066 / April 7, 2021 United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah, Defendants, Civil Action No. 18-CV-8803 (LGS) (S.D.N.Y., filed September 26, 2018) On March 26, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against former New York resident William C. Skelley, the co-founder of a real estate crowdfunding portal. The SEC's complaint, filed on September 26, 2018 in the Southern District of New York, alleged that Skelley, a co-founder and the CEO of Innovational Funding LLC, misappropriated more than $1 million of investor funds for his personal use. The complaint also alleged that Skelley made materially false or misleading statements to investors orally and in private placement memoranda about the use of investor funds, the amount of funds that had been raised on iFunding's portal, and the number of real estate projects that iFunding had financed. On July 8, 2019, the SEC obtained a default judgment against Skelley after he failed to respond to the SEC's complaint. The judgment permanently enjoined Skelley from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. In its March 26, 2021 final judgment, the court ordered Skelley to pay disgorgement of $1,073,746.65, plus prejudgment interest of $ 184,655.27, and a civil penalty of $1,073,746.65. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Ruta G. Dudenas of the Chicago Regional Office, and was supervised by Amy S. Cotter. Doressia L. Hutton and John E. Birkenheier led the litigation. SEC Complaint
OCR text (1,796c · html-text · 99% conf) 
SEC Obtains Final Judgment Concluding Fraud Case Against Co-Founder of Real Estate Crowdfunding Portal Litigation Release No. 25066 / April 7, 2021 United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. William C. Skelley and Sohin S. Shah, Defendants, Civil Action No. 18-CV-8803 (LGS) (S.D.N.Y., filed September 26, 2018) On March 26, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against former New York resident William C. Skelley, the co-founder of a real estate crowdfunding portal. The SEC's complaint, filed on September 26, 2018 in the Southern District of New York, alleged that Skelley, a co-founder and the CEO of Innovational Funding LLC, misappropriated more than $1 million of investor funds for his personal use. The complaint also alleged that Skelley made materially false or misleading statements to investors orally and in private placement memoranda about the use of investor funds, the amount of funds that had been raised on iFunding's portal, and the number of real estate projects that iFunding had financed. On July 8, 2019, the SEC obtained a default judgment against Skelley after he failed to respond to the SEC's complaint. The judgment permanently enjoined Skelley from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. In its March 26, 2021 final judgment, the court ordered Skelley to pay disgorgement of $1,073,746.65, plus prejudgment interest of $ 184,655.27, and a civil penalty of $1,073,746.65. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Ruta G. Dudenas of the Chicago Regional Office, and was supervised by Amy S. Cotter. Doressia L. Hutton and John E. Birkenheier led the litigation. SEC Complaint

Related documents (1)