SEC Charges Man With Securities Fraud, Allegedly Operated Boiler Room in Boca Raton, Florida
On December 1st, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced securities fraud charges against Mark Alan Lisser of Massapequa, New York. During the relevant review period, Mr. Lisser was the owner and primary operator of an investment firm called Knightsbridge. He is accused of managing two boiler rooms—one in Long Island and one in Boca Raton—to defraud several dozen investors out of approximately $2.1 million. Here, our Miami investment fraud attorneys provide an overview of the SEC complaint and the sanctions the agency is seeking against this individual.
SEC Complaint: Mark Alan Lisser Accused of Defrauding Retail Investors
The SEC filed securities fraud charges against Mark Alan Lisser in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. In the agency’s civil complaint, it alleges that Mr. Lisser operated at least two boiler rooms through which he employed a constantly-churning staff of sales representatives. In total, more than 20 representatives worked the phones in these office locations. Between October of 2018 and March 2019, these sales representatives are believed to have worked under the umbrella of Mr. Lisser’s firm Knightsbridge Capital Partners. They were instructed to cold call everyday retail investors and push two different funds:
- KPP Late Stage LLC; and
- KPP Late Stage Investment Fund I LLC.
In the sales scripts given to the agents to use, actual and prospective investors were told that these funds were invested in safe, secure “pre-IPO” companies with potential for major growth in the coming years. In other words, the representatives were pushing unregistered securities on investors. Unfortunately, the claims made to investors were largely false. Material information was misrepresented and omitted. In total, at least 71 different investors put $2.1 million into the funds. The SEC contends that at least $900,000 in investor money was misappropriated by Mr. Lisser.
Proposed Sanctions: Restitution, Disgorgement, and Financial Penalties
The SEC is seeking action to stop any further fraud by Mark Alan Lisser and/or Knightsbridge Capital Partners. The agency also wants to protect the interests of investors that were affected by this scheme. To start, the SEC wants to permanently enjoin Mr. Lisser and his agents to prevent any further securities fraud. Next, the federal regulator is seeking financial restitution for the retail investors impacted by the fraud scheme and disgorgement of any ill-acquired gains. Finally, the SEC is seeking all appropriate monetary sanctions against Mr. Lisser and the investment entities he controls.
Schedule a Confidential Case Evaluation With a Miami Investment Fraud Attorney
At Carlson & Associates, P.A., our Florida investor losses attorneys fight to get justice and protect the interests of our clients. If you suffered financial harm due to a securities broker’s material misrepresentations, we are ready to get started on your case. Call our Miami legal office today to arrange a strictly private assessment of your case. Our securities fraud lawyers represent investors in South Florida and beyond.
Resources:
sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-298
sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2020/comp-pr2020-298.pdf
