U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Litigation Release No. 23701/ December 8, 2016
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Nathanial D. Ponn, Civil Action No. 16-10624-GAO (D. Mass. filed March 31, 2016)
United States v. Nathanial D. Ponn, Criminal Action No. 1:16-cr-10245-ADB (March 31, 2016) (D. Mass.)
Massachusetts Resident Pleads Guilty to Orchestrating a Scheme to Defraud Numerous Broker-Dealers
On December 7, 2016, Nathanial D. Ponn, a defendant in an ongoing SEC litigation, pled guilty to three counts of wire fraud in connection with orchestrating a three-year fraud scheme that involved hundreds of attempts to defraud various securities brokers. The court accepted Ponn's plea and scheduled sentencing for March 1, 2017.
The SEC previously charged Massachusetts resident Ponn with engaging in a scheme to defraud numerous broker-dealers over more than seven years in an action filed on March 31, 2016. According to the SEC complaint, beginning as early as 2007, but escalating in 2014 and continuing into at least April 2015, Ponn defrauded numerous brokerage firms through bogus bank transfers to newly opened brokerage accounts. These bogus transfers created the false appearance that the brokerage accounts would have cash available upon the settlement of Ponn's purchases of stocks and mutual fund shares. Ponn used temporary credits from the bogus transfers to purchase stock and mutual fund shares, which he repeatedly attempted to cash out or transfer to other financial institutions before the brokerages discovered that Ponn did not have actual money to fund the bank transfers.
The SEC's litigation against Ponn continues. The SEC's complaint seeks a permanent injunction plus disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and penalties. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
For further information, please see Litigation Release No. 23508 (March 31, 2016).