U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23524 / April 22, 2016
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Roger S. Bliss, et al., Civil Action No. 2:15cv00098 (D. Utah filed Feb. 11, 2015)
Alleged Investment Club Fraudster Settles All Charges with SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that on April 19, 2016, Judge Robert J. Shelby of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah entered a final judgment against Roger S. Bliss of Bountiful, Utah. The judgment permanently enjoins Bliss from future violations of the registration and antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and a related SEC antifraud rule, and orders him to disgorge nearly $11 million, which will be deemed satisfied upon the conclusion of a court-appointed receivership.
According to the SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Utah in February 2015, between at least 2008 and 2015, Bliss operated a multimillion dollar fraudulent investment scheme. Bliss told investors that he day-traded exclusively in Apple stock and that he had never had a losing day. He claimed to manage more than $300 million in assets and guaranteed returns in excess of 100 percent. In reality, he lost money day-trading, spent much of it on personal expenses, and used new investor funds to pay prior investors.
Bliss pled guilty in Utah state court to felony securities fraud for his participation in the fraudulent scheme. Bliss will pay more than $20 million in criminal restitution and serve a minimum of four years in state prison.
Bliss also pled guilty to charges of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to the Court in connection with his violation of an asset freeze that the SEC obtained against him in federal court. Bliss was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison and will serve his federal sentence following completion of the state prison term. Bliss will be on supervised release for 24 months after he is released from federal prison.
The SEC investigation was conducted by Scott Frost, Paul Feindt, and Cheryl Mori of the agency's Salt Lake Regional Office. Amy Oliver and Daniel Wadley handled the litigation. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Utah Attorney General's Office, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah.