2025-09-15 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 2,343 chars

SEC v. Todd O'Gara; and Wanu Water, Inc., No. LR-26401, District of New Jersey (Sept. 15, 2025) — Press Release

raw: Todd O'Gara and Wanu Water, Inc.

Todd O'Gara and Wanu Water, Inc., No. 2:25-cv-15535 (D.N.J. Sept. 15, 2025)

Caption
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. O'GARA
Source PDF JSON
summary

Wanu Water, Inc. and founder Todd O’Gara settled SEC charges for an offering fraud scheme that raised $10.3 million through misrepresentations and fabricated documents.

paragraph

The SEC charged Wanu Water, Inc. and Todd O’Gara with conducting an offering fraud scheme that raised at least $10.3 million from over 50 investors between 2019 and 2024. The defendants allegedly violated the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by using fabricated documents to misrepresent retail deals and private equity commitments. The settlement includes permanent injunctions and an officer and director bar for O’Gara, with final financial penalties to be determined by the court.

narrative

The SEC charged Wanu Water, Inc. and its founder, Todd O’Gara, with an offering fraud scheme that raised at least $10.3 million from more than 50 investors between 2019 and 2024. To secure investment, the defendants allegedly used fabricated documents to misrepresent retail deal sizes, falsely claim private equity commitments, and inflate O’Gara’s personal wealth. The complaint also alleges misrepresentations regarding how investor funds would be utilized. O’Gara and Wanu have agreed to settle the charges, which include permanent injunctions and an officer and director bar for O’Gara. While specific disgorgement and civil penalty amounts are pending court approval, O’Gara also faces parallel criminal charges from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. The settlement will also prohibit O’Gara from trading in most securities.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
pre-ipo-fraud (95%)
Court
District of New Jersey
Case No.
2:25-cv-15535
Outcome
settled
Victims
50
Entity
Wanu Water, Inc.
Classified pre-ipo-fraud(confidence 95%). EDGAR detection: forms S-1/Form D/1-A· recall 72% / precision 8%. detection rule →
Statutes
Section 17(a) of the Securities ActSection 10(b) of the Securities Exchange ActRule 10b-5
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionTodd O'garaWanu Water, Inc.
Keywords
wanugaragara wanusecuritieswanu watersecurities exchangesecexchange commissiontodd garatoddwaterincexchangeinvestorstodd o'gara

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 1
  • $10.30M $10.3 million $10M–$100M
Entities 7
  • person gregory r. bockin
  • person judson t. mihok
  • agency sec’s charges against them
  • agency sec’s complaint
  • agency sec’s investigation
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • company todd o’gara from trading in securities
Triples 17
  • Securities And Exchange Commission charged Wanu Water, Inc. and Founder Todd O’Gara
  • Todd O’Gara and Wanu raised at least $10.3 million from more than 50 investors
  • Todd O’Gara and Wanu made material misrepresentations to investors
  • Todd O’Gara and Wanu falsely claimed at least two private equity firms had promised large investments
  • Todd O’Gara and Wanu misrepresented Todd O’Gara’s personal wealth and credentials
  • Todd O’Gara and Wanu misrepresented how Wanu would use investors’ money
  • Todd O’Gara and Wanu used fabricated documents to support misrepresentations
  • SEC’s Complaint charges Todd O’Gara and Wanu with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5
  • Todd O’Gara and Wanu agreed to settle SEC’s charges against them
  • Settlement would permanently enjoin Todd O’Gara and Wanu from violating charged provisions of federal securities laws
  • Settlement would prohibit Todd O’Gara from trading in securities
  • Settlement would impose officer and director bar on Todd O’Gara
  • United States Attorney’s Office For The District Of New Jersey charged Todd O’Gara criminally in a parallel action
  • SEC’s Investigation was conducted by Sarah Damiani and Michael Cuff
  • SEC’s Investigation was supervised by Julia C. Green and Scott a. Thompson
  • Litigation will be led by Judson T. Mihok
  • Litigation will be supervised by Gregory R. Bockin
PDF (from attached: complaint)
SEC v. TODD O’GARA · Source
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,343c) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26401 / September 15, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Todd O’Gara and Wanu Water, Inc. , No. 2:25-cv-15535 (D.N.J. filed Sept. 15, 2025) SEC Charges Wanu Water, Inc. and its Founder Todd O’Gara with Defrauding Investors The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Wanu Water, Inc. (Wanu) and its founder Todd O’Gara with conducting an offering fraud scheme which raised millions of dollars over five years. According to the SEC’s complaint, from January 2019 through August 2024, O’Gara and Wanu raised at least $10.3 million from more than 50 investors through the offer and sale of securities issued by Wanu. As alleged, O’Gara and Wanu made material misrepresentations to investors by overstating the size of Wanu’s deals with a prominent retailer, falsely claiming that at least two private equity firms had promised large investments, misrepresenting O’Gara’s personal wealth and credentials, and misrepresenting how Wanu would use investors’ money. The complaint further alleges that O’Gara and Wanu used fabricated documents to support their misrepresentations. The SEC’s complaint charges O’Gara and Wanu with violating 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. O’Gara and Wanu agreed to settle the SEC’s charges against them. The settlement, which is subject to court approval, would permanently enjoin O’Gara and Wanu from violating the charged provisions of the federal securities laws, would prohibit O’Gara from trading in securities (with the exception of trading in securities in his own personal accounts), and would impose an officer and director bar on O’Gara. It would also provide that the court will decide the amounts of disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties at a later date. O’Gara has also been charged criminally in a parallel action by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for related conduct. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Sarah Damiani and Michael Cuff and supervised by Julia C. Green and Scott A. Thompson, all of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Judson T. Mihok and supervised by Gregory R. Bockin, also of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office.
OCR text (2,343c · html-text · 99% conf) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26401 / September 15, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Todd O’Gara and Wanu Water, Inc. , No. 2:25-cv-15535 (D.N.J. filed Sept. 15, 2025) SEC Charges Wanu Water, Inc. and its Founder Todd O’Gara with Defrauding Investors The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Wanu Water, Inc. (Wanu) and its founder Todd O’Gara with conducting an offering fraud scheme which raised millions of dollars over five years. According to the SEC’s complaint, from January 2019 through August 2024, O’Gara and Wanu raised at least $10.3 million from more than 50 investors through the offer and sale of securities issued by Wanu. As alleged, O’Gara and Wanu made material misrepresentations to investors by overstating the size of Wanu’s deals with a prominent retailer, falsely claiming that at least two private equity firms had promised large investments, misrepresenting O’Gara’s personal wealth and credentials, and misrepresenting how Wanu would use investors’ money. The complaint further alleges that O’Gara and Wanu used fabricated documents to support their misrepresentations. The SEC’s complaint charges O’Gara and Wanu with violating 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. O’Gara and Wanu agreed to settle the SEC’s charges against them. The settlement, which is subject to court approval, would permanently enjoin O’Gara and Wanu from violating the charged provisions of the federal securities laws, would prohibit O’Gara from trading in securities (with the exception of trading in securities in his own personal accounts), and would impose an officer and director bar on O’Gara. It would also provide that the court will decide the amounts of disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties at a later date. O’Gara has also been charged criminally in a parallel action by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for related conduct. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Sarah Damiani and Michael Cuff and supervised by Julia C. Green and Scott A. Thompson, all of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Judson T. Mihok and supervised by Gregory R. Bockin, also of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office.

Related documents (1)