The SEC filed a civil complaint against Andrew Spaventa, a 40-year-old from Miller Place, New York, and three companies he controls for a $74 million fraud scheme that victimized more than 800 investors, predominantly retirees. The scheme involved selling shares in private funds holding SpaceX, Anduril, Anthropic, and Perplexity with hidden markups averaging 46%, reaching 64% for SpaceX shares specifically. Operating as a boiler room from Long Island and New Jersey with over 100 commissioned sales agents, the entities collected approximately $23 million in undisclosed fees, including $12 million paid out as sales commissions and $4 million to Spaventa personally. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, financial restitution for defrauded investors, and civil penalties against the defendants.
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