Marshall E. Melton and Integrated Consulting & Management, LLC

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26438 / December 12, 2025

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Melton, et al., No. 1:23-cv-00434 (M.D.N.C. filed May 30, 2023)

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Defendants in Fraudulent Securities Offering

On October 2, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained final judgment against Greensboro resident Marshall E. Melton and his limited-liability company, Integrated Consulting & Management, LLC, in connection with charges related to a fraudulent securities offering.

The SEC’s complaint, filed on May 30, 2023 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Greensboro Division, alleged that the defendants raised between approximately $1.03 and $1.49 million from seven investors, six of whom had an average age of 75 when they first invested.  The SEC alleged that Melton told investors that he would use their funds to buy and renovate properties in downtown Laurinburg, North Carolina, to generate rental income and resale proceeds and provide returns for investors. The complaint, however, alleged that Melton’s representations were false, that he never paid the investors their promised returns or returned to their invested amounts, and that Melton misappropriated nearly two-thirds of investor funds for his own use.

On April 17, 2025, the Court awarded summary judgment in favor of the SEC on all three of its liability claims, finding that the defendants violated 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. See Litigation Release No. 26292 (Apr. 24, 2025).

The final judgment permanently enjoins the defendants from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and permanently enjoins Melton from participating in the issuance, offer, purchase, or sale of any securities, including any security related to interests in real estate, unless the security is either listed on a national securities exchange or traded through an established over-the-counter market and the trade occurs in Melton’s personal accounts. The final judgment also orders the defendants, jointly and severally, to pay disgorgement of $916,341 and pre-judgment interest of $312,460.84, and orders Melton to pay a civil penalty of $472,902.