U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23785 / March 23, 2017
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Thomas J. Connerton and Safety Technologies LLC, No. 3:16-cv-00882 (D. Conn. filed June 8, 2016)
United States v. Thomas J. Connerton, et al., No. 17-cr-47-SRU (D. Conn. filed March 9, 2017)
Defendant in SEC Enforcement Action and His Fianc©e Indicted for Misleading Investors and Money Laundering
On March 7, 2017, Thomas Connerton, a Connecticut man accused by the SEC of misleading people into investing in his company and then taking their money for his personal use, and his fianc©e, Jean Erickson, were indicted on multiple counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering and Erickson with money laundering, money laundering conspiracy, and with making a false statement to a federal agent. The indictment was unsealed on March 9, 2017.
The criminal charges against Connerton and Erickson alleged in the indictment arise from the same conduct alleged in the SEC's complaint against Connerton filed in federal court in Connecticut on June 8, 2016. Both the SEC's complaint and the indictment allege that Connerton and Safety Technologies LLC defrauded investors, including several women Connerton met through an online dating web site and their family and friends, by claiming that he was on the brink of imminent deals with major glove manufacturers to purchase his purported surgical glove technology that would result in large payouts for investors and then misappropriating investor money for his personal use. On June 9, 2016, the SEC obtained an asset freeze against Connerton and, on September 12, 2016, the court issued an order continuing the asset freeze and imposing a preliminary injunction. The indictment also alleges that Connerton and Erickson tried to conceal the nature and source of funds received from the fraudulent sale of Safety Technologies, LLC securities in an attempt to prevent the authorities and regulators, including the FBI and the SEC, from locating the funds.