RIA sentenced to 57-month prison term for theft barred by SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission has barred Eric Erb, a former registered investment adviser and principal of Erb Capital Management, based in Babylon, N.Y. In August 2017, Mr. Erb pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, and this past April a judgment in the case was entered against him, sentencing Mr. Erb to 57 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordering him to pay restitution of approximately $5.4 million. According to an SEC administrative proceeding, the count to which Mr. Erb pleaded guilty alleged that he raised more than $5 million from advisory clients, telling them that he would only invest their funds according to their instructions, but that between January 2016 and February 2017 he instead misappropriated more than $3 million from them for his benefit.