U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23919 / August 24, 2017
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sonya D. Camarco, Camarco Investments, Inc. and Camarco Living Trust, No. 1:17-cv-02027 (D. Colo. filed Aug. 23, 2017)
SEC Obtains Asset Freeze Against Former Broker Charged with Stealing Client Funds
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has obtained an emergency court order and asset freeze preventing a former Colorado-based broker from further dissipating stolen client assets.
According to the SEC's complaint, over the course of 13 years, Sonya D. Camarco, a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado, stole money from her clients' accounts and then lied to her clients about the withdrawals. The SEC alleges that Camarco appears to have forged client signatures on checks made out to "C Investments," an entity Camarco used, and had the checks sent to a private post office box that she rented. Camarco also allegedly liquidated securities in her clients' accounts to make unauthorized payments to accounts she controlled. The complaint alleges that when confronted by clients, Camarco lied and told them that C Investments was an outside investment that she made on their behalf. The complaint alleges that when confronted by her employer, Camarco lied again, saying that she had no affiliation with C Investments and characterizing it as an outside investment held by one of her advisory clients. The SEC alleges that Camarco used the stolen client funds to pay her personal credit card bills and her mortgages.
The SEC also charged Camarco Investments, Inc. and Camarco Living Trust as relief defendants based on their alleged receipt of stolen client funds.
The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in Colorado on August 23, 2017, charges Camarco with violations of Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The complaint seeks disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest from all the defendants and seeks a permanent injunction against and penalties from Camarco.
The SEC's investigation, which is continuing, is being conducted by Som P. Dalal and supervised by Mary S. Brady. The SEC's litigation is being led by Polly A. Atkinson and Stephen C. McKenna.
