FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Washington D.C., Dec. 21, 2020
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it filed an emergency action against California-based real estate development company SiliconSage Builders LLC, aka Silicon Sage Builders, and its sole owner, Sanjeev Acharya, in connection with an alleged $119 million fraudulent offering.
According to the SEC s complaint, Silicon Sage Builders and Acharya raised money from approximately 250 retail investors, most of whom were members of the Northern California South Asian community, by falsely describing Silicon Sage Builders real estate business as profitable and promising investors exorbitant returns. In fact, as the complaint alleges, from 2016 to 2019, all but one of Silicon Sage Builders projects had significant cost overruns and did not generate enough money to pay investors the promised returns. Acharya, as alleged in the complaint, misled investors into believing the payments they rec
Litigation Release No. 24986 / December 15, 2020
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Karina Chairez, No. 1:20-cv-10582 (S.D.N.Y. filed Dec. 15, 2020)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Karina Chairez, a high-level promoter of the AirBit Club investment scheme that targeted Latinx and Spanish-speaking communities, for acting as an unregistered broker. The SEC previously brought similar charges against two other high-level promoters of AirBit Club, which promised investors returns through a purported digital asset trading program and from the recruitment of others.
The SEC s complaint, filed today, alleges that Chairez solicited investors for AirBit Club, including through social media platforms and in-person meetings, without registering with the Commission. According to the complaint, Chairez raised large sums from investors, positioned herself at the top of an extensive pyramid of AirBit investors, and received substantial compensation from AirBit for the sa