SEC pulls license from New York broker-dealer

SEC pulls license from New York broker-dealer
The regulator alleges Portfolio Advisors Alliance used false offering documents
MAY 01, 2020
The Securities and Exchange Commission has revoked the broker-dealer registration of Portfolio Advisors Alliance, a New York firm that the SEC alleges knowingly sold private placements for more than a year using false documentation. In 2016, the SEC brought a civil injunctive action against the firm alleging that from 2011 through 2013 its owner, Howard J. Allen, sold securities using documents that he knew falsely claimed that audits of the investment — in American Growth Funding II — had been completed. In 2019, a jury in the SEC’s civil case against American Growth Funding II found Portfolio Advisors Alliance liable for violating provisions of the securities laws. [More: SEC settles fraud charges against Ponzi-scheme participants]

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