Another one bites the dust
Both the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have thrown the book at what the SEC says is a “a purported Seattle-based investment fund manager.” The SEC has charged Global Asset Partners and its principal Joseph C Lavin (aka Joseph Ivcevic) for defrauding investors of at least $5 million in a ponzi scheme. The commission adds that Lavin promised investors returns of 18% to 36% on their investments, but actually used the money to “pay for personal expenses for himself and his friends, including lavish trips, automobiles, a Seattle Mariners luxury skybox, and real estate in Costa Rica.
It adds: “Lavin converted the investors’ money to his own use. In addition, as in a classic ponzi scheme, Lavin used money raised from new investors to pay purported returns to previous investors.” He also allegedly falsified returns.
According to the CFTC, Lavin defrauded investors through a retail FX options scheme. The regulator filed a civil enforcement action on August 1 in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington. The CFTC alleges Lavin solicited retail customers in the US, Canada, France and Panama to buy FX options in a scheme to defraud them of more than $16 million.