2025-03-20 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 2,834 chars

SEC v. Dharma Teja Nukarapu; SharkDreams, Inc.; and D Dollar Inc., No. LR-26275, Eastern District of North Carolina (Mar. 20, 2025) — Press Release

raw: Dharma Teja Nukarapu; SharkDreams, Inc.; D Dollar, Inc.

Dharma Teja Nukarapu; SharkDreams, Inc.; D Dollar, Inc., No. 5:23-cv-00503 (Mar. 20, 2025)

Caption
BRYAN v. KROGER CO
Source JSON
summary

Dharma Teja Nukarapu and his companies, SharkDreams and D Dollar, were ordered to pay millions in penalties for a fraudulent scheme that raised $3.35 million through false claims.

paragraph

Dharma Teja Nukarapu and his entities, SharkDreams, Inc. and D Dollar Inc., were found liable for violating the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The scheme involved raising $2.7 million for SharkDreams through false valuation and order claims, plus $650,000 for D Dollar, of which $595,000 was misappropriated. The court imposed a ten-year officer and director bar on Nukarapu and ordered combined disgorgements and civil penalties exceeding $1.4 million.

narrative

The SEC obtained final judgment against Dharma Teja Nukarapu and his controlled entities, SharkDreams, Inc. and D Dollar Inc., for a fraudulent offering scheme. Between 2018 and 2020, Nukarapu raised approximately $2.7 million for SharkDreams by making false claims about company valuations, customer orders, and investor returns. Additionally, he raised $650,000 through D Dollar, misappropriating $595,000 of those funds for personal use and SharkDreams operations. The defendants were charged with violating the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The court imposed permanent injunctions and a ten-year bar preventing Nukarapu from serving as a public company officer or director. Financial remedies include individual and joint disgorgements, prejudgment interest, and $300,000 civil penalties for each defendant.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
pre-ipo-fraud (95%)
Court
Eastern District of North Carolina
Case No.
5:23-cv-00503
Disgorgement
$522,320
Civil penalty
$300,000
Victim loss
$2,700,000
Victims
20
Entity
SharkDreams, Inc.
CIK
0001708657
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
BRYANKROGER CO
Keywords
nukarapusharkdreamsdollardharma tejateja nukarapuincsecuritiesnukarapu sharkdreamssecurities exchangenorth carolinadisgorgement prejudgmentprejudgment interestinvestorsdharmateja

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 12
  • $30.00M $30 million $10M–$100M
  • $7.00M $7 million $1M–$10M
  • $2.70M $2.7 million $1M–$10M
  • $650K $650,000 $100K–$1M
  • $595K $595,000 $100K–$1M
  • $522K $522,320 $100K–$1M
  • $333K $333,490 $100K–$1M
  • $300K $300,000 $100K–$1M
  • $144K $143,946 $100K–$1M
  • $90K $90,108 $10K–$100K
  • $52K $52,020 $10K–$100K
  • $12K $12,212 $10K–$100K
Entities 3
  • person dharma teja nukarapu
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • court united states district court for the eastern district of north carolina
Triples 11
  • Securities And Exchange Commission obtains final judgment Dharma Teja Nukarapu and two companies he controlled, SharkDreams, Inc. and D Dollar Inc.
  • SharkDreams and Dharma Teja Nukarapu fraudulently raised approximately $2.7 million from more than 20 investors through securities offerings from at least January 2018 to November 2019
  • Dharma Teja Nukarapu made multiple false and misleading statements to current and prospective investors about SharkDreams securities
  • D Dollar raised at least $650,000 from investors in 2019 and 2020
  • Dharma Teja Nukarapu misappropriated approximately $595,000 of investment proceeds from D Dollar to fund SharkDreams operations and for personal uses
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina permanently enjoins Dharma Teja Nukarapu, SharkDreams, and D Dollar from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina bars Dharma Teja Nukarapu from acting as an officer or director of a public company for ten years
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina orders Dharma Teja Nukarapu to pay disgorgement of $333,490 and prejudgment interest of $90,108
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina orders Dharma Teja Nukarapu to pay, jointly and severally with SharkDreams, disgorgement of $522,320 and prejudgment interest of $143,946
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina orders Dharma Teja Nukarapu to pay, jointly and severally with D Dollar, disgorgement of $52,020 and prejudgment interest of $12,212
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina orders each defendant to pay a civil penalty of $300,000
View original SEC litigation releasesec.gov
Extracted body text (2,834c) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26275 / March 20, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Dharma Teja Nukarapu, et al., No. 5:23-cv-00503 (E.D.N.C. filed Sept. 11, 2023) SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against North Carolina Man and Entities He Controlled in Offering Fraud Scheme On March 6, 2025, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina entered final judgment against Dharma Teja Nukarapu and two companies he controlled, SharkDreams, Inc. and D Dollar Inc., for their role in a fraudulent offering scheme. According to the SEC's complaint, SharkDreams, a purported healthcare software development firm, and its CEO Nukarapu, a resident of Apex, North Carolina and India, fraudulently raised approximately $2.7 million from more than 20 investors through securities offerings from at least January 2018 to November 2019. They allegedly made multiple false and misleading statements to current and prospective investors in connection with the offer and sale of SharkDreams securities, including that prior investors had doubled their money in a year, that SharkDreams was valued at as much as $7 million to $30 million, that SharkDreams had customer orders for its products and services, and that SharkDreams had a large investor who would buy out all of its remaining shares to infuse capital. The complaint alleged that none of this was true. The complaint also alleged that, in 2019 and 2020, D Dollar, a company owned by Nukarapu, raised at least $650,000 from investors, and investors were told that the funds would be used for a purported D Dollar subsidiary; but Nukarapu allegedly misappropriated approximately $595,000 of those investment proceeds to fund SharkDreams operations and for his personal uses. The final judgment permanently enjoins Nukarapu, SharkDreams, and D Dollar from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale or any security. The judgment bars Nukarapu from acting as an officer or director of a public company for ten years. The judgment also orders: Nukarapu, individually, to pay disgorgement of $333,490 and prejudgment interest of $90,108; Nukarapu to pay, jointly and severally with SharkDreams, disgorgement of $522,320 and prejudgment interest of $143,946; and Nukarapu to pay, jointly and severally with D Dollar, disgorgement of $52,020 and prejudgment interest of $12,212. Each Defendant is also ordered to pay a civil penalty of $300,000. The SEC's investigation was supervised by Kevin Guerrero and Stacy Bogert. The litigation was handled by Carina Cuellar, Rebecca Dunnan, and Peter Lallas under the supervision of Christopher Bruckmann, James Connor, and Mark Cave.
OCR text (2,834c · html-text · 99% conf) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26275 / March 20, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Dharma Teja Nukarapu, et al., No. 5:23-cv-00503 (E.D.N.C. filed Sept. 11, 2023) SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against North Carolina Man and Entities He Controlled in Offering Fraud Scheme On March 6, 2025, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina entered final judgment against Dharma Teja Nukarapu and two companies he controlled, SharkDreams, Inc. and D Dollar Inc., for their role in a fraudulent offering scheme. According to the SEC's complaint, SharkDreams, a purported healthcare software development firm, and its CEO Nukarapu, a resident of Apex, North Carolina and India, fraudulently raised approximately $2.7 million from more than 20 investors through securities offerings from at least January 2018 to November 2019. They allegedly made multiple false and misleading statements to current and prospective investors in connection with the offer and sale of SharkDreams securities, including that prior investors had doubled their money in a year, that SharkDreams was valued at as much as $7 million to $30 million, that SharkDreams had customer orders for its products and services, and that SharkDreams had a large investor who would buy out all of its remaining shares to infuse capital. The complaint alleged that none of this was true. The complaint also alleged that, in 2019 and 2020, D Dollar, a company owned by Nukarapu, raised at least $650,000 from investors, and investors were told that the funds would be used for a purported D Dollar subsidiary; but Nukarapu allegedly misappropriated approximately $595,000 of those investment proceeds to fund SharkDreams operations and for his personal uses. The final judgment permanently enjoins Nukarapu, SharkDreams, and D Dollar from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale or any security. The judgment bars Nukarapu from acting as an officer or director of a public company for ten years. The judgment also orders: Nukarapu, individually, to pay disgorgement of $333,490 and prejudgment interest of $90,108; Nukarapu to pay, jointly and severally with SharkDreams, disgorgement of $522,320 and prejudgment interest of $143,946; and Nukarapu to pay, jointly and severally with D Dollar, disgorgement of $52,020 and prejudgment interest of $12,212. Each Defendant is also ordered to pay a civil penalty of $300,000. The SEC's investigation was supervised by Kevin Guerrero and Stacy Bogert. The litigation was handled by Carina Cuellar, Rebecca Dunnan, and Peter Lallas under the supervision of Christopher Bruckmann, James Connor, and Mark Cave.

Related documents (1)