Wendy Swensen

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26377 / August 18, 2025

Securities and Exchange Commission v. The Estate of Stephen Romney Swensen, et al., No. 22-cv-00135-RJS-DBP (D. Utah filed Oct. 14, 2022)

SEC Obtains Final Judgment in Case Involving Fraudulent Scheme by Now-Deceased Investment Adviser

On July 31, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a settled final judgment in which relief defendant Wendy Swensen agreed to disgorge funds she received as the result of a fraudulent investment scheme carried out by her now-deceased husband, Stephen Swensen.

The SEC’s complaint, filed on October 14, 2022, alleged that Stephen Swensen promised investors they would earn at least 5% in annual returns from various investments. According to the complaint, however, Mr. Swensen misappropriated investor funds to make Ponzi-like payments to other investors and to pay for his, and his family’s, personal expenses. The SEC did not allege wrongdoing by Ms. Swensen.

Ms. Swensen consented to the entry of a final judgment ordering her to pay a total of $3,839,009, consisting of $3,626,138 in disgorged investor funds, $41,279 in prejudgment interest, and $171,592 in interest Ms. Swensen earned on investor funds during the pendency of the case. The entire amount will be distributed to harmed investors by the court-appointed receiver, Chad S. Pehrson.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Joni Ostler of the Denver Regional Office and Pasha Salimi of the Home Office, under the supervision of Tanya G. Beard. The SEC’s litigation was led by Jason Bussey and Andrew Hefty of the San Francisco Regional Office, with assistance from Leigh Barrett, Alex Lefferts, and Ellen Chen.