The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged three former employees of VisionQuest Wealth Management, a defunct Raleigh, N.C.-based investment advisory firm, of abetting a fraudulent offering of more than $10 million in promissory notes.
According to the SEC's complaint, Stacey Beane, of Florida, Justin Deckert, of Virginia, and Travis Laska, of North Carolina, helped conceal the offering by falsifying and withholding documents that were requested by the commission during an examination and ensuing enforcement investigation. VisionQuest had its registration suspended by the SEC in December 2017.
In June, following a jury trial, Stephen C. Peters, the owner and principal of the firm, was convicted on 20 counts of fraud in a criminal case that paralleled a civil case brought by the SEC. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Mr. Peters’ offering and associated fraudulent activity constituted a Ponzi scheme.
In a consent agreement with the commission, Mr. Deckert agreed to pay a $30,000 penalty and to being barred from the securities industry, according to a release.
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It is not clear how many employees will be affected, but none of the private partnership’s 20,000 financial advisors will see their jobs at risk.
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"The greed and deception of this Ponzi scheme has resulted in the same way they have throughout history," said Daniel Brubaker, U.S. Postal Inspection Service inspector in charge.
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