The United States District Court for the Central District of California has granted the SEC’s motion for default judgment and entered a Final Judgment against defendants Easy Equity Asset Management, Inc, Easy Equity Management, LP, Easy Equity Partners, LP, Alero Equities The Real Estate Company, LLC, and Alero IX Corporation (collectively, Easy Equity) in a pending civil action.
The Final Judgment enjoins (i) Easy Equity from violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, (ii) Easy Equity Asset Management, Inc., Easy Equity Management, L.P., Easy Equity Partners, L.P., and Alero Equities The Real Estate Company, L.L.C. from violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and (iii) Easy Equity Management, L.P. from violations of Sections 206(1), (2), and (4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder. In addition, the Court ordered the Easy Equity entities to jointly and severally pay disgorgement of USD3,581,913 and prejudgment interest of USD126,988. Finally, the Court ordered Easy Equity Asset Management, Inc., Easy Equity Partners, L.P., Easy Equity Management, L.P., and Alero I.X. Corporation to each pay a civil penalty of USD725,000, and Alero Equities The Real Estate Company, L.L.C. to pay a civil penalty of USD650,000.
According to the Complaint in this matter, from 2007 through as late as March 2010, Easy Equity, Alero O. Mack, Jr (Mack), and Steven Enrico Lopez, Sr (Lopez) obtained approximately USD4 million in investor funds through various fraudulent investment schemes that primarily involved the offer and sale of investments in various purported hedge funds, as well as in an investment adviser to a hedge fund. The Commission’s case against Mack and Lopez is continuing.
