A court-appointed receiver is working to recover funds from what investigators have described as a Ponzi scheme, saying the Naples-based businessman's lavish lifestyle drained much of the account. There is.
The Securities and Exchange Commission in July charged Brent Seaman of Naples with fraudulently raising about $35 million from at least 60 investors through unregistered securities offerings.
The SEC said many of those investors were elderly and retired and had ties to a church in Naples where Mr. Seeman was an active member.
According to court documents, the receiver tracked the transfer of at least $20.1 million in investor funds to foreign exchange trading accounts, and recovered less than $509,000.
The receiver also discovered that Mr. Seeman, who settled with the SEC but did not admit to any wrongdoing, had been living a lavish lifestyle with investor funds.
Recipients tracked more than $8.5 million of investor funds that were spent on personal expenses such as private jet charters, luxury ski trips and expensive jewelry.
“If you drive a nice car and wear a nice suit, you exude an air of success that makes people stop asking the right questions. It's a common pattern,” he said, referring to similar laws unrelated to this case. said Chris Vernon, a Naples attorney who has handled several cases.
“If you've been doing this for 30 years, representing recipients and dealing with recipients, that money is probably going to be gone.”
