U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 23734 / January 30, 2017

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 Obtains Final Judgment Against Minnesota Man and his Company for Defrauding Investors

On January 30, 2017, the Honorable Wilhelmina M. Wright of the District of Minnesota entered a final judgment against Vu H. Le a/k/a Vinh H. Le and his company, TeamVinh.com LLC ("TeamVinh").

In its complaint, the SEC alleged that TeamVinh and Le fraudulently raised more than $3 million from over 5,600 investors throughout the United States and in various foreign countries. Specifically, the SEC alleged that TeamVinh lured people into buying memberships in a program that Le and TeamVinh claimed to be a referral network investors could use to earn an income from multi-level marketing companies without the investors having to do any work. The SEC further alleged that Le and TeamVinh sold investment contracts in TeamVinh itself, promising investors a percentage of TeamVinh's profits, and that they sought investments in a purported commodities trading platform run by Le, with Le guaranteeing investors 5% weekly returns. The SEC alleged that investors never received the promised payments, and Le misappropriated the overwhelming majority of investor money to fund his own lavish lifestyle.

The final judgment, which TeamVinh and Le consented to without admitting or denying the allegations of the SEC's complaint, permanently enjoins TeamVinh and Le from violating Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; orders TeamVinh and Le to pay, on a joint and several basis, $2,318,942.00 in disgorgement, plus $202,130 in prejudgment interest; and orders TeamVinh and Le to each pay a civil penalty of $160,000.

For more information, see Litigation Release No. 23432 (Dec. 17, 2015).