SEC charges Indiana RIA with misleading investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Louis G. Mohlman, Jr. and two of the RIA firms he owns with engaging in conflicted transactions and misleading investors. According to the SEC's complaint, between 2012 and 2015, Mr. Mohlman made payments to satisfy the obligations of third parties, and in 2013, used assets from one of the two private funds managed by Mohlman Asset Management Fund to make a $150,000 unsecured loan that constituted approximately 16% of the fund's portfolio. The complaint also alleges that, despite being told by SEC examiners that the loan should be fully disclosed to fund investors, Mr. Mohlman misled investors about the nature of the loan. The SEC also said that Mr. Mohlman also allegedly encouraged many of his clients to invest in what he called his "Roth IRA strategy," which he said was endorsed by tax and legal opinions he had procured from accounting and law firms. The complaint alleges that these statements were false. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, Mr. Mohlman and his advisory firms agreed to the entry of permanent injunctions and to pay a $100,000 civil penalty. Mohlman Asset Management Fund also agreed to disgorge $862.03 in ill-gotten gains, plus $75.34 in interest. The settlement is subject to court approval.