2018-05-17 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 2,177 chars

SEC v. Keenan Gracey, No. LR-24144, Central District of California (May 17, 2018) — Press Release

raw: Keenan Gracey

Keenan Gracey, No. LR-24144 (May 17, 2018)

Caption
SEC v. Keenan Gracey
Source PDF JSON
summary

Keenan Gracey is accused of stealing at least $400,000 from investors through a fake pre-IPO share scam, selling non-existent shares of Perspecta, Inc

paragraph

Keenan Gracey is accused of stealing at least $400,000 from investors through a fake pre-IPO share scam, selling non-existent shares of Perspecta, Inc. The alleged fraud involved using publicly available information and false claims to convince investors they would recover sixty times their investment. Gracey is charged with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The court granted an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order against Gracey, and the SEC seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions, return of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties.

narrative

Keenan Gracey is accused of stealing at least $400,000 from investors through a fake pre-IPO share scam, selling non-existent shares of Perspecta, Inc. The alleged fraud involved using publicly available information and false claims to convince investors they would recover sixty times their investment. Gracey is charged with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The court granted an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order against Gracey, and the SEC seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions, return of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties. The SEC charged Keenan Gracey with defrauding investors out of at least $400,000 by selling non-existent pre-IPO shares in Perspecta, Inc.—a company yet to be formed through a planned merger of three others. Gracey falsely claimed ownership of shares and promised 60x returns, using publicly available merger details to fabricate legitimacy. The SEC obtained an emergency asset freeze and temporary restraining order after filing sealed charges on May 9, 2018, alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 17(a) of the federal securities laws. The agency seeks injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with interest, and civil penalties, with litigation led by Don Searles and supervised by Amy Longo. The SEC warned investors to be cautious of pre-IPO share offerings, especially those lacking verifiable corporate ties. The SEC charged Keenan Gracey with defrauding investors out of at least $400,000 by selling non-existent pre-IPO shares in Perspecta, Inc.—a company yet to be formed through a planned merger of three other firms. Gracey falsely claimed ownership of shares and promised investors a 60x return, using publicly available merger details to lend credibility to his scheme. The SEC filed an emergency complaint on May 9, 2018, in the Central District of California, alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 17(a) of the federal securities laws, and secured an immediate asset freeze and temporary restraining order. The agency seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with interest, and civil penalties, with litigation led by Don Searles and supervised by Amy Longo. The SEC warned investors to be cautious of pre-IPO share offerings, especially those lacking verifiable corporate ties.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
pre-ipo-fraud (100%)
Court
Central District of California
Entity
Keenan Gracey
Classified pre-ipo-fraud(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms S-1/Form D/1-A· recall 72% / precision 8%. detection rule →
Statutes
Section 17(a) of the Securities ActRule 10b-5
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionKeenan Gracey
Keywords
pre-ipo sharesgraceykeenan graceysecpre-iposec'ssecurities exchangesecuritiesshareskeenaninvestorsexchange commissionemergency reliefasset freezefreeze temporary

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 1
  • $400K $400,000 $100K–$1M
Entities 2
  • person keenan gracey
  • agency sec's complaint
Triples 11
  • SEC announced the unsealing of fraud charges against a defendant
  • SEC obtained emergency relief, including an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order to halt the offering
  • SEC's complaint alleges Keenan Gracey sold investors purported pre-IPO shares of stock
  • Keenan Gracey stole at least $400,000 from investors through the sale of non-existent pre-IPO shares of stock
  • SEC obtained emergency relief including an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order to halt the offering
  • SEC filed fraud charges against Keenan Gracey
  • Securities and Exchange Commission announced unsealing of fraud charges
  • Keenan Gracey stole $400,000 from investors
  • SEC obtained emergency relief
  • SEC alleges Keenan Gracey sold investors purported pre-IPO
  • Keenan Gracey sold non-existent pre-IPO shares
PDF (from attached: pdf)
20(d)(1) and 22(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”), 15 U.S.C. §§ · Source
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,177c) 
SEC Moves Quickly To Shut Down Fake Pre-IPO Share Scam Litigation Release No. 24144 / May 17, 2018 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Keenan Gracey, Civil Action No.18-01872 (C.D. Cal, Filed May 10, 2018) The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the unsealing of fraud charges against a defendant who stole at least $400,000 from investors through the sale of non-existent pre-IPO shares of stock. The SEC also obtained emergency relief, including an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order to halt the offering. The SEC's complaint alleges that Keenan Gracey sold investors purported pre-IPO shares in Perspecta, Inc., a new company that will be formed as a result of the merger of three other companies. Although the merger is planned, Gracey's claims of ownership of pre-IPO shares in Perspecta were false. As alleged in the SEC's complaint, Gracey has no interest in the not-yet-formed company and no IPO is planned for its stock. The SEC alleges that Gracey used publicly available information about the merger and false claims about his supposed connections with the companies involved to convince investors that they would recover sixty times their investment if they purchased pre-IPO shares from him. The SEC's complaint filed under seal in federal court in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on May 9, 2018 and unsealed today, charges Gracey with violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The Court granted the SEC's request for an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order against Gracey from further violations of the federal securities laws, as well as other emergency relief. The SEC complaint also seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions, return of any ill-gotten gains with interest, and civil penalties. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Alec Johnson and was supervised by Marc Blau. The SEC's litigation will be led by Don Searles and supervised by Amy Longo. The SEC encourages investors to be wary of any offer of pre-IPO shares, as further detailed in this investor alert. SEC Complaint
OCR text (2,177c · html-text · 99% conf) 
SEC Moves Quickly To Shut Down Fake Pre-IPO Share Scam Litigation Release No. 24144 / May 17, 2018 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Keenan Gracey, Civil Action No.18-01872 (C.D. Cal, Filed May 10, 2018) The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the unsealing of fraud charges against a defendant who stole at least $400,000 from investors through the sale of non-existent pre-IPO shares of stock. The SEC also obtained emergency relief, including an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order to halt the offering. The SEC's complaint alleges that Keenan Gracey sold investors purported pre-IPO shares in Perspecta, Inc., a new company that will be formed as a result of the merger of three other companies. Although the merger is planned, Gracey's claims of ownership of pre-IPO shares in Perspecta were false. As alleged in the SEC's complaint, Gracey has no interest in the not-yet-formed company and no IPO is planned for its stock. The SEC alleges that Gracey used publicly available information about the merger and false claims about his supposed connections with the companies involved to convince investors that they would recover sixty times their investment if they purchased pre-IPO shares from him. The SEC's complaint filed under seal in federal court in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on May 9, 2018 and unsealed today, charges Gracey with violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The Court granted the SEC's request for an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order against Gracey from further violations of the federal securities laws, as well as other emergency relief. The SEC complaint also seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions, return of any ill-gotten gains with interest, and civil penalties. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Alec Johnson and was supervised by Marc Blau. The SEC's litigation will be led by Don Searles and supervised by Amy Longo. The SEC encourages investors to be wary of any offer of pre-IPO shares, as further detailed in this investor alert. SEC Complaint

Related documents (1)