U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23763 / March 2, 2017
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Upstate Law Group, LLC, et al., No. 4:17-MC-00009 (N.D. Tex. filed Feb. 27, 2017)
SEC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action Against Four Entities in Investigation of Investments in Pension Income Streams
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it has filed a subpoena enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas against four respondents - Upstate Law Group, LLC; Strategic Marketing Innovators, Inc.; Performance Arbitrage Company, Inc.; and Financial Products Distributors, LLC - seeking an order compelling them to produce documents to the SEC.
According to the SEC's application and supporting papers:
- The SEC is investigating potential violations of the federal securities laws relating to the unregistered offer and sale of investments in pension income streams.
- The staff has developed evidence that Strategic Marketing Innovators may locate prospective pension sellers; Financial Products Distributors may sell investments in pension-income streams; Performance Arbitrage may offer a type of guarantee to buyers of the investment; and Upstate Law Group may provide escrow services to facilitate the flow of pension income streams between parties.
- Staff in the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office served the respondents with subpoenas in October 2016 seeking, among other things, production of documents regarding the investments, how the investments operate, and whether sufficient disclosures have been made to potential investors.
- The respondents have so far failed to produce any documents in response to the subpoenas.
The SEC's application seeks an order from the federal district court compelling respondents to comply with the SEC's subpoenas. The SEC is continuing its fact-finding investigation and, to date, has not concluded that any individual or entity has violated the federal securities laws.