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
SEC Enforcement Division Director to Step Down by Year s End Stephanie Avakian has served as the head of the division for four years, and oversaw investigations into Wells Fargo s supervision of investment advisors as well as the Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative.
SEC Enforcement Division Director Stephanie Avakian will be leaving her post and the agency by the end of this year, the commission announced Thursday. She departs after a four-year tenure as both co-director and director of the 1,400-person department.
Deputy Director Marc Berger will be stepping in as an acting head of the division in the interim. In total, the Division of Enforcement recommended more than 3,000 enforcement actions during Avakian’s tenure, obtaining more than $17 billion in financial remedies and returning about $3.6 billion to investors.