An ex-Morgan Stanley adviser conned investors out of $4.8million in a 10-year Ponzi scheme to fund his lavish lifestyle and pay for his Tesla car, regulators have said.
Shawn E. Good from Wilmington, North Carolina, targeted ‘novice investors’ including retirees and a single mother with young children and little income in his craven scheme, the SEC said.
The alleged swindler convinced the clients to part with their money into his personal bank account to supposedly make low-risk investments in real-estate development projects from 2012 until February this year, it has been claimed.
He is accused of using $13,000 of stolen money to make payments towards his $60,000 Tesla Model 3, $23,000 towards his $45,000 Alfa Romeo Stelvio, and a staggering $800,000 towards his credit card bills.
Good sent $110,000 in Venmo payments with subjects lines including ‘because youre sexy’, ‘Hotel for Destiny’, ‘Nailz’ and ‘shopping’, the complaint said.
He was fired by Morgan Stanley in February after refusing to cooperate with an internal investigation, the SEC said in their action against the adviser.
They are seeking an injunction and the ‘disgorgement of ill-gotten gains’ against Good.
The filing stated: ‘Good told clients that he would use these funds to invest in land development projects and tax-free North Carolina state or municipal bonds on their behalf.
‘Good also told the clients that these investments were “low-risk” and would pay returns of between 6% and 10% over three-month or six-month terms, though Good never provided clients with prospectuses or written agreements to confirm these promised returns and other representations.’