SEC v. The Estate of Stephen Romney Swensen; and Wendy Swensen, No. LR-26377, District of Utah (Aug. 18, 2025) — Press Release
raw: Wendy Swensen
Wendy Swensen, No. LR-26377 (Aug. 18, 2025)
The SEC obtained a final judgment against the estate of Stephen Swensen and relief defendant Wendy Swensen for a fraudulent scheme that promised 5% annual returns but functioned as a Ponzi scheme.
Relief defendant Wendy Swensen agreed to a final judgment of $3,839,009 to resolve claims related to her deceased husband's fraudulent investment scheme. The total amount includes $3,626,138 in disgorgement, $41,279 in prejudgment interest, and $171,592 in earned interest. The funds will be distributed to harmed investors via a court-appointed receiver.
The SEC obtained a final judgment in a case involving a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by the late investment adviser Stephen Swensen. Swensen promised investors at least 5% annual returns but misappropriated funds for personal expenses and Ponzi-like payments to other investors. While no direct wrongdoing was alleged against his wife, Wendy Swensen, she consented to a judgment requiring her to disgorge $3,839,009. This total comprises $3,626,138 in investor funds, $41,279 in prejudgment interest, and $171,592 in interest earned during the litigation. The recovered funds will be distributed to harmed investors by court-appointed receiver Chad S. Pehrson. The litigation was led by the SEC's San Francisco Regional Office following an investigation by the Denver and Home Offices.
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
- $3.84M $3,839,009 $1M–$10M
- $3.63M $3,626,138 $1M–$10M
- $172K $171,592 $100K–$1M
- $41K $41,279 $10K–$100K
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- person stephen swensen
- person wendy swensen
- Securities And Exchange Commission obtained final judgment against Wendy Swensen
- Wendy Swensen agreed to disgorge $3,839,009 in funds received from Stephen Swensen's fraudulent scheme
- Stephen Swensen promised investors 5% annual returns from various investments
- Stephen Swensen misappropriated investor funds for Ponzi-like payments and personal expenses
- Court-appointed receiver will distribute the entire $3,839,009 to harmed investors
- Securities And Exchange Commission conducted investigation by Joni Ostler and Pasha Salimi under supervision of Tanya G. Beard
- Securities And Exchange Commission led litigation by Jason Bussey and Andrew Hefty with assistance from Leigh Barrett, Alex Lefferts, and Ellen Chen
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26377 / August 18, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. The Estate of Stephen Romney Swensen, et al., No. 22-cv-00135-RJS-DBP (D. Utah filed Oct. 14, 2022) SEC Obtains Final Judgment in Case Involving Fraudulent Scheme by Now-Deceased Investment Adviser On July 31, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a settled final judgment in which relief defendant Wendy Swensen agreed to disgorge funds she received as the result of a fraudulent investment scheme carried out by her now-deceased husband, Stephen Swensen. The SEC’s complaint, filed on October 14, 2022, alleged that Stephen Swensen promised investors they would earn at least 5% in annual returns from various investments. According to the complaint, however, Mr. Swensen misappropriated investor funds to make Ponzi-like payments to other investors and to pay for his, and his family’s, personal expenses. The SEC did not allege wrongdoing by Ms. Swensen. Ms. Swensen consented to the entry of a final judgment ordering her to pay a total of $3,839,009, consisting of $3,626,138 in disgorged investor funds, $41,279 in prejudgment interest, and $171,592 in interest Ms. Swensen earned on investor funds during the pendency of the case. The entire amount will be distributed to harmed investors by the court-appointed receiver, Chad S. Pehrson. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Joni Ostler of the Denver Regional Office and Pasha Salimi of the Home Office, under the supervision of Tanya G. Beard. The SEC’s litigation was led by Jason Bussey and Andrew Hefty of the San Francisco Regional Office, with assistance from Leigh Barrett, Alex Lefferts, and Ellen Chen.
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26377 / August 18, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. The Estate of Stephen Romney Swensen, et al., No. 22-cv-00135-RJS-DBP (D. Utah filed Oct. 14, 2022) SEC Obtains Final Judgment in Case Involving Fraudulent Scheme by Now-Deceased Investment Adviser On July 31, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a settled final judgment in which relief defendant Wendy Swensen agreed to disgorge funds she received as the result of a fraudulent investment scheme carried out by her now-deceased husband, Stephen Swensen. The SEC’s complaint, filed on October 14, 2022, alleged that Stephen Swensen promised investors they would earn at least 5% in annual returns from various investments. According to the complaint, however, Mr. Swensen misappropriated investor funds to make Ponzi-like payments to other investors and to pay for his, and his family’s, personal expenses. The SEC did not allege wrongdoing by Ms. Swensen. Ms. Swensen consented to the entry of a final judgment ordering her to pay a total of $3,839,009, consisting of $3,626,138 in disgorged investor funds, $41,279 in prejudgment interest, and $171,592 in interest Ms. Swensen earned on investor funds during the pendency of the case. The entire amount will be distributed to harmed investors by the court-appointed receiver, Chad S. Pehrson. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Joni Ostler of the Denver Regional Office and Pasha Salimi of the Home Office, under the supervision of Tanya G. Beard. The SEC’s litigation was led by Jason Bussey and Andrew Hefty of the San Francisco Regional Office, with assistance from Leigh Barrett, Alex Lefferts, and Ellen Chen.