The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three Toms River, New Jersey residents for their roles in an affinity investment fraud that raised approximately $47 million from more than 87 investors, who were primarily members of Orthodox Jewish communities in New Jersey and New York. 

The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in the District of New Jersey, alleges that between approximately November 2019 and June 2023, Leor Moshe, the scheme’s orchestrator, convinced investors, most of whom, like Moshe, were active members of the Orthodox Jewish community, to invest in his company, Capital Funding ASAP LLC. Moshe told the would-be investors that their money would be used to fund short-term loans for small businesses and their investments would lead to significant fixed returns. However, rather than funding business loans, Moshe allegedly misappropriated more than $11 million from investors for his personal use and used more than $850,000 for Ponzi-like payments to earlier-in-time investors. 

The complaint further alleges that Moshe paid fellow Toms River residents, Jacob Goldman and Isaac Odes, who were not registered as broker-dealers or associated with any registered broker-dealer, to recruit investors. Goldman and Odes solicited more than $23 million from at least 25 investors, negotiated investment terms, and facilitated the collection of funds. 

As a result of the scheme, investors from Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Ohio lost more than $25 million.

“As our complaint alleges, the defendants promised some investors that they could see returns in excess of thirty percent which definitely falls into the ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’ category,” said Thomas P. Smith, Jr., Associate Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. “In reality, the Jersey Shore triumvirate took advantage of their relationships within Orthodox Jewish communities to raise money for Moshe’s scheme and enrich themselves.”

The SEC’s complaint charges Moshe with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and charges Goldman and Odes with violations of the broker registration provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against the defendants, and a conduct-based injunction against Moshe. 

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey today announced criminal charges against Moshe for similar conduct.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Assistance provides guidance on how to avoid frauds that target specific communities on its Investment Scams Targeting Groups webpage. The SEC also encourages investors to use Investor.gov to check the background of anyone offering or selling them an investment.

The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the FBI.