SEC bars California adviser over $5.7 million fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission has barred adviser Craig Arsenault of Laguna Niguel, Calif., for defrauding clients of his registered investment advisory firm, Atlas Capital Management. (More:​ SEC bars adviser charged with stealing more than $1 million from clients) The SEC's complaint alleged that Atlas clients invested $5.7 million in ACT Global Investments, a company Mr. Arsenault controlled, telling clients that their funds would be used to make secured loans to doctors for the purpose of acquiring medical equipment. Instead, the complaint alleged that Mr. Arsenault and ACT used client funds to make unsecured loans to a used car dealership, among other businesses, and to acquire undeveloped real estate. (More:​ SEC bars Texas adviser for cheating more than 40 investors) The complaint also alleged that Mr. Arsenault then provided clients with deceptive account statements that made it appear as if these investments were generating substantial income when they were not. The complaint also alleged that the adviser misappropriated and misused over $1 million of the client money invested in ACT.