SEC Charges Recidivist and Others in Offering Fraud Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken legal action by filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Christopher Slaga and two entities under his control, namely Q4 Capital, LLC and J4 Capital Advisors LLC. The charges relate to an alleged fraudulent scheme involving the offering of interests in purported private investment funds. Slaga, operating under the alias “Keith Renko,” reportedly received around $3.5 million in proceeds from the fraudulent activities. Additionally, Hayden F. Greene is charged for his role as an unregistered broker.

The complaint put forth by the SEC alleges that Slaga, a repeat offender, conducted the fraudulent scheme by using the fabricated identity of “Keith Renko.” Through the entities under his control, and while posing as Renko, Slaga promoted and sold interests in three private investment funds he claimed to manage. He assured investors that their funds would be utilized for specific securities trading strategies. However, the SEC contends that Slaga never actually established the investment funds, did not execute securities trades on behalf of these funds, and predominantly misappropriated investor funds for his personal expenses. To further conceal his wrongdoing, the complaint asserts that Slaga falsified documents to create the illusion that the investment funds held brokerage accounts at a major firm, were audited by a prominent auditor, and yielded profits. The reality, as per the complaint, was that the funds lacked brokerage accounts, were not audited by any established entity, and failed to generate profits.

The SEC’s complaint charges Slaga, Q4 Capital, LLC, and J4 Capital Advisors LLC with violating the antifraud provisions outlined in Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, along with Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The charges also involve violations of the securities-registration provisions as defined in Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act. Additionally, Hayden F. Greene is charged for his unregistered broker activities, contravening Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, an officer-and-director bar specifically for Slaga, disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties (except as applicable to Greene). Greene has agreed to settle the charges, subject to court approval, and consent to a final judgment encompassing all the charges and relief sought by the SEC.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Melanie K. Good, supervised by Nikolay V. Vydashenko and Eric R. Werner of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office. The litigation is led by Jason P. Reinsch, overseen by B. David Fraser. The SEC acknowledges the collaboration with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this matter.