U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23432 / December 17, 2015
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Vu H. Le a/k/a Vinh H. Le and TeamVinh.com LLC, Civil Action No. 15-cv-04366 (D. Minn.)
SEC Charges Minnesota Man and His Company with Defrauding Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that on December 15, 2015, it filed charges against Vu H. Le a/k/a Vinh H. Le and his company, TeamVinh.com LLC ("TeamVinh"), in connection with their fraudulent raising of more than $3 million from over 5,600 investors throughout the United States and in various foreign countries.
According to the SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Minnesota:
- Le, who previously had been convicted of forgery and barred from offering or selling securities by state authorities in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and TeamVinh lured people into buying memberships in a program that Le and TeamVinh claimed to be a referral network that investors could use to earn an income from multi-level marketing companies without the investors having to do any work.
- Le and TeamVinh also sold investment contracts in TeamVinh itself, promising investors a percentage of TeamVinh's profits.
- Le and TeamVinh also sought investments in a purported commodities trading platform run by Le, with Le guaranteeing investors 5% weekly returns.
- None of these investments had any legitimacy. Investors never received the promised payments, and Le misappropriated the overwhelming majority of investor money to fund his own lavish lifestyle, including spending more than $2 million of investor funds at a Las Vegas casino.
The SEC's complaint charges Le and TeamVinh with violations of Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") and Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act"), and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5. The SEC's complaint seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.
