U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 25929 / January 22, 2024

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Grenda Group, LLC, et al., No. 1:18-cv-00954 (CCR) (W.D.N.Y. filed Aug. 30, 2018)

SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Registered Investment Adviser and Its Owner

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York entered final judgments against Grenda Group, LLC, and its owner, president, and chief compliance officer, Gregory Grenda, on August 26, 2022, based on an opinion and order dated August 11, 2022. The final judgments permanently enjoin Grenda Group and Gregory Grenda from future violations of Sections 206(1), 206(2), and 203(f) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“the Advisers Act”), and order Grenda Group and Gregory Grenda to pay civil penalties of $400,000 and $167,500, respectively.

According to the SEC’s complaint, filed on August 30, 2018, Grenda Group and Gregory Grenda permitted Gregory Grenda’s father, Walter Grenda—whom had been barred in 2015 by the SEC from associating with an investment advisor—to associate with Grenda Group, including by meeting with clients in the firm’s office. Additionally, the SEC alleged that Grenda Group and Gregory Grenda failed to disclose Walter Grenda’s status as a barred investment advisor to their clients and made misleading statements to clients regarding Walter Grenda’s bar.

On May 17, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York entered partial summary judgment on the SEC’s claim under Section 203(f) of the Advisers Act. On December 10, 2021, a jury in the Western District of New York found in favor of the SEC on the remaining claims, finding that Gregory Grenda and Grenda Group violated Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act, and that Gregory Grenda aided and abetted Grenda Group’s violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act.

The SEC’s litigation was led by David Stoelting and former SEC senior counsel Barry P. O’Connell, with the assistance of Melissa A. Coppola and Elzbieta Wraga, and supervised by Preethi Krishnamurthy, Alexander Vasilescu, and Sheldon L. Pollock.

For further information, see Litigation Release No. 24377 (December 20, 2018) and Press Release 2018-172 (August 30, 2018)