Ian O. Mausner; Evolution Lending, LLC
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 26333 / June 24, 2025
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ian O. Mausner and Evolution Lending, LLC, No. 3:25-cv-01591-BTM-VET (S.D. Cal. filed June 23, 2025)
SEC Charges Recidivist and His Firm with Fraudulent Offering
On June23, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged recidivist Ian O. Mausner of San Diego, California, and his firm Evolution Lending, LLC, with conducting a fraudulent offering that raised more than $400,000 from at least 11 investors.
According to the SEC’s complaint, from approximately December 2020 through January2022, Mausner—who previously had an SEC cease-and-desist order issued against him due to securities law violations—and Evolution Lending, defrauded investors in connection with an unregistered offering of limited partnership interests in the Cryptocurrency Growth Fund L.P. The complaint alleges that in selling interests in the Fund, Mausner and Evolution Lending failed to disclose Mausner’s prior disciplinary history and falsely claimed that the Fund would invest in and hold crypto assets for the Fund’s benefit on certain crypto asset trading platforms, when it did not. As further alleged in the complaint, Mausner commingled investor funds with unrelated funds in bank accounts he controlled, in violation of Mausner’s and Evolution Lending’s fiduciary duties to the Fund.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, charges Mausner and Evolution Lending with violating the antifraud and registration provisions under Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1), 206(2), and 206(4) of the Advisers Act and Rule206(4)-8 thereunder, and it charges Mausner with aiding and abetting Evolution Lending’s violations. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy encourages investors to check the background of anyone selling or offering them an investment using the free and simple search tool on Investor.gov. Investors can also use the SALI feature to find information about certain people who have had judgments or orders issued against them in SEC court actions or administrative proceedings.
The litigation will be led by Daniel S. Lim and supervised by Douglas M. Miller also of the Los Angeles Regional Office.