Receiver chases $300K from business partner tied to $29M Ponzi scheme

A receiver is pursuing nearly $300,000 from a business partner accused of knowingly promoting fictitious investments as part of a $29 million Ponzi scheme.

Jacob Cazier, a Utah-based professional who provided investment advisory and securities brokerage services, allegedly received at least $296,290.97 in investor funds while serving as a business partner to Stephen Romney Swensen, who allegedly operated the scheme from at least June 2011 until his death in June 2022. The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, is ancillary to a Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement action. No final determination has been made on the claims.

Swensen, a registered representative affiliated over the years with Summit Brokerage Services, Inc., Allegis Investment Services, LLC, J.W. Cole Advisors, Inc., and Wealth Navigation Advisors, allegedly lured over fifty investors into a fraudulent fund called Crew Capital. The fund allegedly promised guaranteed annual returns of five to ten percent and was marketed as a safe, low-risk retirement investment.

In reality, Swensen allegedly misappropriated essentially all investor funds to make Ponzi scheme payments to other investors and to pay for personal expenses, such as real estate, vehicles, multiple private aircraft, and living expenses for himself and his family.

Cazier allegedly formally joined Swensen as a business partner in 2018, when the Ponzi scheme was allegedly already well underway. The two co-managed Navigation Capital Group, LLC, through which Cazier provided investment advisory services, securities brokerage services, and insurance products to clients. Court filings allege that Cazier regularly participated in financial planning meetings alongside Swensen and promoted the Crew Capital investments despite understanding, or recklessly disregarding, that the purported investment structure and promised returns were fictitious.

The receiver, Chad S. Pehrson, was appointed by the court on August 8, 2023, to identify, collect, and preserve the assets of the receivership estate for the benefit of creditors, including the defrauded investors. He is now seeking to claw back the funds Cazier allegedly received, arguing that the transfers furthered the fraudulent investment scheme and that Cazier provided no reasonably equivalent value in return.

The receiver is pursuing claims under Utah's Uniform Voidable Transactions Act for fraudulent transfer and unjust enrichment. He is seeking disgorgement of no less than $296,290.97, plus pre- and post-judgment interest, costs, and reasonable attorney's fees.

Cazier resides in Davis County, Utah. His company, Cazier Group, LLC, is a single member limited liability company organized under the laws of Utah, with Cazier as the only member and principal.

The SEC's underlying enforcement action was filed on October 14, 2022. The agency alleged that the receivership defendants fraudulently solicited over $29 million from investors and did not invest in any securities, instead misappropriating the funds. According to court filings, Swensen allegedly used deceptive marketing materials, fake account statements, and a fraudulent website that displayed fabricated returns to lure investors.

The case is Pehrson v. Cazier, Case No. 2:26-cv-00073, U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.