Court Freezes Assets Of San Juan Capistrano Company
Court Freezes Assets Of San Juan Capistrano Company
by Contributing Editor
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an emergency court order freezing the assets of a San Juan Capistrano-based company and its founder, who allegedly were carrying out investment fraud, it was announced Monday.
According to the SEC’s complaint, unsealed last week in Santa Ana federal court, Justin Robert King and his company, Elevate Investments LLC, raised about $7.4 million from investors since at least June 2019. The complaint alleges that King and Elevate were offering interests in the Elevate Investment Fund despite the fact that no such fund entity exists.
The complaint further contends that all investor money was held in brokerage and bank accounts in the name of King, his wife, and/or Elevate. As alleged, Elevate’s website stated that, from June 2019 through June 2020, King’s trading resulted in returns of 61% for all his clients’ accounts, according to the SEC.
In fact, the complaint alleges, King’s trading across all known accounts associated with him resulted in losses of $3.8 million during that period. The website also allegedly represented that King had historically generated profits for his clients year after year, but according to the complaint, King had consistently generated losses.
Finally, the complaint alleges that Elevate’s website made false statements about its affiliations with well-known securities industry participants when, in fact, certain purported affiliations had been terminated by the securities industry participant or had never existed. From September to December, King allegedly transferred almost $400,000 from the brokerage accounts to the bank account of his wife, who is named in the complaint as a relief defendant, according to the SEC.
On Dec. 28, a federal judge in Santa Ana granted the SEC’s request for a temporary restraining order against King and Elevate. The court’s order freezes the assets of King, Elevate, and Justin King’s wife, Shannon, appoints a temporary receiver over Elevate, and orders the Kings and Elevate to provide an accounting, among other relief.
The court set a Jan. 19 hearing on the SEC’s motion for a preliminary injunction extending the emergency relief through the conclusion of the case.
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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
