SEC Judge Orders Two Investment Advisers to Pay Over $6.3M Related to Bernard Madoff-Linked Hedge Funds

A Securities and Exchange Commission administrative law judge says that investment advisers Larry Grossman and Gregory Adams must pay over $6.3M in restitution and fines for misleading clients who invested in hedge funds tied to Ponzi fraud mastermind Bernie Madoff. Administrative law judge Brenda Murray issued her ruling last month.

The two investment advisers are Sovereign International Asset Management founder Larry Grossman and Gregory Adams, who agreed to buy Sovereign from Grossman in 2008. The firm filed for bankruptcy four years later.

Per the SEC administrative complaint, Grossman did not know that the two hedge funds that he primarily recommended to clients were linked to Madoff. The Commission contends that Grossman violated his fiduciary duties to his clients when he neglected to conduct due diligence on the funds, which were run by a man named Nickolai Battoo. Grossman also purportedly did not notify clients that he was getting paid $3.4 million in consulting fees and referral money for recommending certain funds. After Grossman sold Sovereign to Adams, the former owner continued working in several capacities at the firm and never actually told clients that the sale even happened.

It was just last October that a federal judge in Illinois ordered Battoo to pay over $358 million for concealing investment losses that were part of Madoff’s Ponzi scam. The SEC accused the hedge fund manager of bilking investors around the world by claiming exceptional returns while hiding huge losses, including those involving leveraged investments in Madoff feeder funds.

Madoff, whose Ponzi scam went on for decades, collectively bilked thousands of wealthy and regular investors, as well as institutional clients, of billions of dollars, He is serving 150 years behind bars after pleading guilty to the criminal charges against him.

Court Imposes Injunctions and Monetary Sanctions of Over $350 Million Against Nikolai Battoo and His Companies, SEC, October 6, 2014

More Blog Posts:
Madoff Ponzi Scam: Five Ex-Aides Convicted of Securities Fraud, Victims to Recover $349 Million, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, March 26, 2014

Madoff Ponzi Scam Victims Win Right to Appeal for Interest, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, January 24, 2014
US Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on the Impact of SLUSA on the Stanford Ponzi Scams, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, October 17, 2013