Today the Salt Lake City office of the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Raymond P. Morris, E&R Holdings, LLC, Wise Financial Holdings, LLC, Momentum Leasing, LLC, James L. Haley, Cornerstone Capital Fund, LLC, Vantage Point Capital, LLC, Jay J. Linford, Freedom group, LLC, and Luc D. Nguyen (an attorney). The suit alleges that the named individuals ran a Ponzi scheme that bilked scores of investors out of “no less than $60 million.”

The complaint alleges that from March 2007 through January 2009, Raymond Morris offered and sold unregistered promissory notes to investors. In the course of soliciting these loans the SEC alleges that he and the other defendants made misrepresentations to investors to convince them that they were purchasing high yield notes that were risk free. Morris allegedly told investors that their funds would be deposited into a secure account and would be used only to verify deposits.

However, instead of using the funds as represented Morris allegedly used investor funds “for personal expenses, including a luxurious home and several sports cars, and for making Ponzi payments to create an illusion of a successful investment.” Continue reading →