U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 20849 / January 9, 2009
SEC v. Gen-See Capital Corp. and Richard S. Piccoli, 09 CV 0014 S (W.D.N.Y.)
Temporary Restraining Order Entered in Multi-Million Dollar Offering Fraud and Ponzi Scheme in Western New York
On January 8, 2009, the Honorable William M. Skretny, United States District Judge for the Western District of New York, entered an order temporarily restraining defendants Gen-See Capital Corporation a/k/a Gen Unlimited ("Gen-See") and Richard S. Piccoli from violating the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws, and froze their assets.
The Commission's complaint, filed on January 8, 2009 in Buffalo, New York, alleges that the defendants have raised millions of dollars from investors by promising steady, "guaranteed" returns, ranging from 7.1% to 8.3% per annum, and no fees or commissions. In November 2008 alone, the defendants raised over $500,000 from investors. The defendants have relied heavily on advertisements in newsletters published by churches and dioceses. The complaint further alleges that the defendants told investors that their money was invested in "high quality" residential mortgages that the defendants were able to purchase at a discount. The defendants did not invest the funds as promised, but instead used new investor funds to make payments to earlier investors. In addition, the complaint alleges that Gen-See's offering and sale of securities to the public was not registered with the Commission.
The court's order temporarily restrained the defendants from (i) violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), (ii) Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, and (iii) Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act. The court also enjoined and restrained the defendants from destroying, altering, or concealing documents and imposed a freeze on any transfer of defendants' assets.
For further information, see Litigation Release No. 20848 (January 8, 2009)
SEC Complaint in this matterAdditional Information for Gen-See Investors