U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 25928 / January 18, 2024
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Prosperity, Investments & Lending, LLC, et al., No. 1:24-cv-00242-SCJ (N.D. Ga. Jan. 18, 2024)
SEC Charges Georgia Company and Organizer with Engaging in a Ponzi Scheme and Affinity Fraud Targeting Nigerian-Americans
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Loganville, Georgia resident Prosper E. Beyond Moore and the entity he controls, Prosperity Investments & Solutions, LLC (“Prosperity”), with defrauding dozens of investors in the Nigerian-American community who shared Moore’s religious background.
According to the SEC’s complaint, between October 2021 and September 2022, Moore and Prosperity made unregistered offerings of securities and raised more than $1.4 million from over 60 individual investors—many of whom were members of Moore’s church or learned of Moore’s offerings through shared religious affiliations—by falsely touting Prosperity as an exclusive investing and lending platform with an elite team of experienced individuals that would provide investors with profits of up to 50% each month. The complaint, however, alleges that Moore, who had no prior experience working in the financial industry, was the only person making investment decisions, and Prosperity did not actually invest the majority of funds it received from investors. Instead, according to the SEC, Moore operated Prosperity as a Ponzi scheme and used money from new investors to make payments to existing investors and to pay his personal expenses, while generating phony account statements to create the illusion of profits.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, charges Moore and Prosperity with violating Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, Moore and Prosperity each consented to the entry of an order permanently enjoining them from violating the charged provisions and authorizing the court to determine at a later date the amount of disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties that each defendant shall pay. Moore also consented to a permanent officer-and-director bar pursuant to Section 20(e) of the Securities Act and Section 21(d)(2) of the Exchange Act, and to an injunction that permanently bars Moore from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of securities, except in his personal account.
Investors should be aware that many fraudsters try to take advantage of the trust that having something in common creates, such as a common religion, nationality, or ethnicity, and may also use unregistered offerings to conduct investment scams. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy has issued an Investor Alert with tips on how investors should be wary of promises of high investment returns with little or no risk and avoid investment decisions based solely on common ties with someone recommending or selling the investment.
The SEC’s investigation was part of the Atlanta Regional Office’s Atlanta Area Affinity Fraud Initiative and was conducted by enforcement staff in the Atlanta Regional Office. The investigation was led by Deepthy Kishore and Kyle Bradley and supervised by Natalie Brunson and Justin Jeffries. The litigation will be led by Kristin Murnahan and supervised by M. Graham Loomis.