RIA Compliance Blog
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced earlier this month that it obtained an asset freeze against a Boston-area money manager and his investment advisory firm who allegedly mislead advisers in a quantitative hedge fund and diverted a portion of investor money into his personal bank account.
In its allegations, the SEC claimed that Andrey C. Hicks and Locust Offshore Management, LLC made false representations to “create an aura of legitimacy when selecting individuals to invest in a purported million dollar hedge fund.” Hicks is alleged to have raised $1.7 million from several investors. According to the SEC’s complaint, Hicks misrepresented that he had obtained an undergraduate and graduate degree at Harvard University and that he previously worked for Barclays Capital. He also misrepresented that the hedge fund held more than $1.2 billion in assets, according to the complaint.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Sterns of the District Court for Massachusetts issued the restraining order and asset freeze.
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