The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged private fund adviser Meyer Global Management LLC (MGM) and its CEO, Owen E.H. Meyer, with defrauding investors and MGM-managed funds in connection with investments in SpaceX and other pre-IPO securities.

According to the SEC’s complaint, in a series of schemes from at least December 2021 to the present, the defendants violated their fiduciary duties by misusing client fund assets, and lied to the underlying investors in the funds. In at least three of those schemes, the defendants allegedly misappropriated client assets from certain MGM-managed funds to pay for Meyer’s personal expenses. As outlined in the complaint, the defendants concealed their actions in one scheme by sending statements to investors that inflated their account values.

The complaint also alleges that, in one of the misappropriation schemes involving three MGM-managed funds, defendants misappropriated portions of investor proceeds and required investors to sign releases accepting distributions of amounts that were less than they were owed in order to get any money at all. Finally, the complaint alleges that defendants repeatedly failed to address a capital call deficiency owed by an MGM-managed fund in connection with its investment in SpaceX, resulting in the fund forfeiting its nearly $3,000,000 investment.

“This case is a reminder that fraudsters can exploit the allure of exclusive, high-return pre-IPO access to take advantage of retail investors,” said Corey A. Schuster, Chief of the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit. “The defendants in this matter were investment advisers entrusted with acting as fiduciaries to their clients. Nevertheless, they allegedly engaged in multiple fraudulent acts to enrich themselves.”

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges the defendants with violating antifraud provisions of the Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against both defendants, as well as a conduct-based injunction against Meyer.