Litigation Release No. 24993 / December 22, 2020
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Charles Samel, Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-10769 (S.D.N.Y. filed December 21, 2020)
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Charles Samel, a former consultant for former registered investment adviser International Investment Group LLC (IIG), for his role in an alleged fraud conducted by IIG to cover up tens of millions of dollars in investor losses on bad bets in order to keep its investment advisory business afloat.
As alleged in the SEC's complaint, Samel assisted IIG's principals in concealing the fraudulent nature of a loan asset in the fund's portfolio. The complaint alleges that when auditors asked questions about the prospects that the fake loan would be repaid, Samel helped prepare a sham agreement falsely documenting the sale of the fake loan by the fund. The sham agreement was allegedly provided to the auditors to resolve their concerns about the loan and, as a result, no issues about the loan were raised in the audit report that was sent to the fund investors.