March 6, 2015 — Investors trust investment hedge fund managers to manage their investments in a responsible and ethical manner. When instead, fund managers actually steal their investors’ money, they deserve to be reported to the financial fraud whistleblower program established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Informants who notify the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about financial fraud schemes that harm investors may be rewarded for collaborating with the agency. Tipsters receive as much as thirty percent of the amount recouped by the government, provided that the total amount recovered is over $1 million.
Purported Hedge Fund Manager Allegedly Swindled Investors in Nonexistent Hedge Fund and Spent Money on Luxury Travel Instead
The SEC has charged a purported New York City fund manager with stealing money from his investors. In 2010, Moazzam “Mark” Malik reportedly created a purported hedge fund called Wall Street Creative Partners, touted to be a global investment firm. Later, he changed the phony fund’s name to Seven Sages Capital LP and then to American Bridge Investment Group LLC. The fund’s most recent name is Wolf Hedge LLC.
Malik allegedly told investors that the privately held fund managed $100 million in assets and had consistently high returns. In reality, however, Malik brought in just $840,774 from investors and never retained more than $91,000 in assets because he allegedly spent the money almost as soon as he received it on his own high-rolling lifestyle.
To fool investors into believing that the fund was genuine, Malik allegedly created an Investor Relations employee with a fictitious name and photo Malik found on the Internet, “Amanda Ebert.” The phantom employee allegedly once sent an investor who demanded the return of his money an email claiming that Malik was dead.
Far from dead, however, Malik allegedly was cavorting with his investors’ money — spending it on jewelry, luxury travel and a match-making website.
Contact Us to Notify the SEC about Hedge Fund Managers’ Theft from Investors
While Waters & Kraus is not handling this particular example of securities fraud, we are representing whistleblowers in similar qui tam matters. If you have comparable claims against your employer or anyone else engaged in theft from firm investors, contact us by email or call our qui tam attorneys at 800.226.9880 to learn more about our practice and how we can work together to notify the government about SEC fraud and abuse. Our qui tam lawyers, such as Paul Lawrence in the firm’s Washington D.C. area office, are committed to advancing and protecting informants’ interests in whistleblower lawsuits.
