The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Bƒ³veda Asset Management, Inc. and its President and sole owner, George Kenneth Witherspoon, Jr. of Charlotte, North Carolina, for failing to provide required books and records during a Commission examination and for other violations of the federal securities laws.

According to the SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, Georgia, SEC staff requested books and records from Bƒ³veda and Witherspoon as part of an investment adviser examination in September 2019. Bƒ³veda and Witherspoon have not produced the requested books and records, as required by law. The complaint further alleges that Bƒ³veda is improperly registered with the Commission as an Internet investment adviser because it does not meet the applicable registration requirements, and does not otherwise appear to be qualified for registration with the Commission. The SEC also claims that, since January 2020, Bƒ³veda and Witherspoon have had custody of client funds, but have failed to comply with requirements to safeguard those assets. Finally, the SEC asserts that Bƒ³veda and Witherspoon made material misstatements and omissions in Bƒ³veda's Forms ADV filed with the Commission between 2014 and 2021.

The SEC's complaint charges Bƒ³veda with violating Sections 203A, 204(a) and 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and Rule 206(4)-2 thereunder. Witherspoon is charged with aiding and abetting those violations. Bƒ³veda and Witherspoon also are charged with violating the antifraud provisions (Sections 206(1) and 206(2)), as well as Section 207, of the Investment Advisers Act, and Witherspoon is alternatively charged with aiding and abetting Bƒ³veda's violations of those provisions. The complaint seeks permanent injunctions from future violations of these provisions and civil monetary penalties.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Peter J. Diskin and Taryn Hairston, under the supervision of Justin Jeffries. The litigation will be led by Robert Schroeder and supervised by M. Graham Loomis.  The examination that led to this enforcement action was conducted by Dale Perez, Murry Lott, and Caneka Hardon of the SEC's Division of Examinations, under the supervision of Deborah Shaw.