A Nevada investment manager and his firm are in the SEC’s crosshairs after regulators say they raised $4.7 million from investors with promises of automated trading and guaranteed returns.
5 Fruits Enterprises LLC, along with its founder Calvin Guess and co-manager Marcus Ligon, are named in the SEC’s newly filed complaint in the District of Nevada. According to the agency, Guess and Ligon pitched their options trading program nationwide from 2021 to 2023, telling more than 140 investors that their money would be handled by “automated bots” and that they’d see impressive, compounding returns — plus a guarantee that their principal would be returned, no matter what.
But the SEC says those claims didn’t hold up. The complaint alleges that 5 Fruits never had any bots or automated trading technology and that the vast majority of investor funds never made it to a brokerage account. Instead, the SEC says Guess and Ligon spent most of the $4.7 million on personal expenses and Ponzi-like payments to other investors. Just $130,015 was ever transferred to a brokerage account, according to the filing. The rest, regulators claim, went to personal bank accounts, credit card payments, cash withdrawals, and other personal expenditures, including gentlemen’s clubs, cars, and massages.
Guess, 38, is listed as the founder and managing member of 5 Fruits, while Ligon, 37, served as co-manager and administrative assistant. The SEC says neither has ever been associated with any entity registered with the Commission. The complaint details how the pair recruited three members of their investment group to act as “ambassadors” for 5 Fruits, with the task of promoting options trading to potential investors in return for commissions. Investors signed up for “Option Fund” agreements—some called “Angel Investor Agreements,” others “Option190 Fund” or “Option360 Fund” contracts. These agreements promised the return of initial investments after a set period and projected weekly compounding returns as high as 8.2%. In one example, a $10,000 investment was supposed to grow to $77,608.41 in 26 weeks.
The SEC says Guess and Ligon approved the language in these agreements, distributed them to investors, and instructed ambassadors to convey the guarantee of a return of the initial deposit. They also allegedly reviewed, approved, and directed the creation of investor account statements showing purported weekly gains, which were circulated to investors. But according to the SEC, about 99 out of 145 investors never received any money back or any returns on their investments.
The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement, and civil penalties. At this stage, these are only allegations in a civil complaint. The defendants have not yet responded in court, and there have been no findings of liability.
The case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Calvin Guess, Marcus Ligon, and 5 Fruits Enterprises LLC, Case No. 2:25-cv-01655, filed September 4, 2025, in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.
New F2 Strategy research finds more firms growing without M&A, yet one-third still lack a defined growth process.
Shadow AI, weak oversight, and no formal policy highlight why advisory firms are more exposed to cyber risk than they realize.
Meanwhile, DPL Financial Partners adds two annuity executives and Prime Capital Financial hires a Mid-Atlantic retirement plan consultant.
Andrew Komarow pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Hartford to defrauding three financial services companies of close to $3.3 million.
Elsewhere, Cetera picks up a $210 million Connecticut team from MML, while Wells Fargo FiNet adds a San Diego family practice from LPL.
Knighthead Life entered the market with a competitive MYGA. A strong launch earned advisor confidence and paved the way for FIAs.
As AI makes financial information more accessible than ever, Lana Hock explains why human judgment, trust, and empathy remain the qualities clients value most in a financial advisor
