Garrett W. Moretz

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26372 / August 12, 2025

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Garrett W. Moretz, No. 5:24-cv-00171 (W.D.N.C. July 29, 2024)

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Broker Charged with Making Fraudulent Misrepresentations Related to Sale of L Bonds

On August 8, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final judgment by consent against Garrett W. Moretz, a registered representative and investment adviser representative who the Commission had charged with fraudulently selling high-risk debt securities known as L Bonds. 

The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on July 29, 2024, alleged that Moretz deceived multiple retail investors by making repeated misrepresentations to them regarding high-risk debt securities known as L Bonds.  The complaint further alleged that Moretz repeatedly misrepresented L Bonds to investors as “guaranteed” when Moretz knew that the L Bonds he offered and sold to investors were not guaranteed. 

Moretz consented to entry of the final judgment, without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, permanently enjoining him from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The final judgment further orders Moretz to pay $4,374.91 in disgorgement, $1,404.68 in prejudgment interest, and a $35,000 civil penalty. The final judgment also enjoins Moretz from acting as, or associating with, a broker, dealer, or investment adviser for one year.

The SEC’s litigation was led by Timothy Stockwell, assisted by Jay Adams, and supervised by Eric Phillips of the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office.