The SEC alleges that Drake, then with Los Angeles-based HCR Wealth Advisors, deceived the clients for more than three years, telling them that they paid a special “VIP” annual rate of 0.15 to 0.20 percent of their assets under management when in fact they paid 1 percent. Jeremy Drake’s deception led the clients to pay $1.2 million more in management fees than Jeremy Drake represented. Jeremy Drake personally received approximately $900,000 of incentive-based compensation based on the fees paid by the clients during the course of his deception.
According to the SEC’s complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Jeremy Drake repeatedly lied to the clients and their representatives and sent false and misleading emails, deceptive fee reports, and other fabricated documents. The complaint alleges that in June 2016, as one of the clients demanded an explanation about the fees, Jeremy Drake created the persona of “Ron Stenson,” who purportedly corroborated Jeremy Drake’s story. Upon discovery, the complaint alleges that Jeremy Drake admitted to one of the clients that he had been lying and warned her that reporting his misconduct could result in bad publicity for her husband.
“As alleged in our complaint, these two clients trusted Drake to manage their investments, but all the while Drake was lying to them and then tried to conceal his lies by fabricating documents and even acting as an impostor to back up his claims,” said Michele Wein Layne, Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office.
The SEC charged Jeremy Drake with violating and aiding and abetting violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction, return of Drake’s allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest, and penalties.
For further information about this securities law blog post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, by email at [email protected] or visit www.securitieslawyer101.com. This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute, legal and compliance advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.
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Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
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