San Francisco Investment Manager is Sued Over $2M Hedge Fund Fraud

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a financial fraud lawsuit against Nicholas M. Mitsakos and his Matrix Capital Market. Mitsakos and his investment advisory firm are accused of pretending that they managed millions of dollars in assets. They allegedly stole about $800K from the first client that invested with them. The client, a Cayman Islands fund, invested $1.99M.

Mitsakos and his firm are accused of soliciting investors in a purported hedge fund. They are said to have falsely claimed they were successful money managers overseeing millions of dollars even though they had no assets. Instead, they allegedly made up a hypothetical investment portfolio in which the investments made up to 66% of yearly returns. The two of them are accused of pretending that these trades were real.

Commenting on the hedge fund fraud, SEC New York Regional Office Director Andrew Calamari said that it is important for investors to verify any information about an investment opportunity, especially one that is touted as having a “lofty historical performance.”

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has filed a parallel criminal case against Mitsakos. According to the government, Mitsakos told prospective investors that he supervised over $60M of assets. Mitsakos is criminally charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy.

Our hedge fund fraud law firm works with institutional investors and high net worth individual investors that have sustained losses because of negligence, theft, or other wrongdoing or misconduct. Contact The SSEK Partners Group today. Your initial consultation is a free, no obligation session.

Read the SEC Complaint (PDF)