Cuffs
The SEC is one of the most integral organizations on Wall Street, without them, a white-collar financial crime would go completely unchecked. The SEC stands for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is a large independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market manipulation. Some examples of crimes the SEC aims to expose are insider trading, pump and dumps, and different conflicts of interests – especially among high net-worth individuals and investors. However, the SEC doesn’t only fry the biggest fish in the pond, they also make it a point to monitor the smaller ones.
One of the most recent SEC cases is a prime example of this: the SEC has accused a mother-son team of hyping phony stock-picking supercomputers. Their names are Joy and Brent Kovar, and the SEC has moved to shut down what it says is a Ponzi scheme run by the duo. The mother and son had pulled more than $12 million after selling investors on the idea that they had developed a fool-proof, stock-picking supercomputer. They did this by bragging about the technological capabilities of their company, Profit Connect Wealth Services Inc., baiting hundreds of investors to find money to invest in them even if it meant the investors had to pull from their retirement fund or homes. The duo promised investors 30% annual returns as well as monthly compound interest. I guess if something sounds too good to be true … it probably is. What do you think about the SEC, and what do you think will happen to this mother son duo?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.