[NEW YORK] The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday brought settled charges of fraud against Adit Ventures Management, its founder and three partners in connection with pre-IPO investments in companies including Klarna and SpaceX, the agency said in a release.
The SEC alleged that the investment adviser had used “false claims and promises” to solicit investments in Adit-managed funds and used client money for the firm’s own benefit, including taking unsecured loans on favourable terms without disclosure to clients.
Adit Ventures, without admitting the allegations, agreed to a consent order which would include payments of disgorgement and a civil penalty, the SEC said. The consent order requires approval by a federal judge.
Adit Ventures CIO and founder Eric Munson denied the charges in a statement. Demand for shares in private markets, which are not subject to the same scrutiny as public exchanges, is increasing as companies grow bigger and more prominent before they eventually list. Investors bought what they believed to be shares of SpaceX through unusually complex arrangements before its blockbuster IPO this year, leaving some unsure of what exactly they owned.
The SEC’s complaint said that Munson had solicited an investor by falsely claiming that a fund owned shares of stock of a private, pre-IPO company. The agency also alleged that the defendants bought pre-IPO shares and then caused client funds to buy those shares at a higher price, misrepresenting...
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