United States
Caproasia.com | The leading source of data, research, information & resource for financial professionals, investment managers, professional investors, family offices & advisors to institutions, billionaires, UHNWs & HNWs. Covering capital markets, investments and private wealth in Asia. How do you invest $3 million to $300 million? How do you manage $20 million to $3 billion of assets? Caproasia - Learn more



This site is for accredited investors, professional investors, investment managers and financial professionals only. You should have assets around $3 million to $300 million or managing $20 million to $3 billion.










United States SEC Receives New York Court Approval to Stop Pre-IPO Stock Fraud StraightPath Venture Partners, Raised $410 Million from 2,200 Investors and Pocketed $75 Million 

19th May 2022 | Hong Kong

The United States Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has received approval from a New York (Manhattan) court to stop pre-IPO stock fraud from unregistered broker / dealer StraightPath Venture Partners, which had raised more than $410 million from 2,200 investors and paid themselves $75 million and their sales agents another $48 million.  The United States SEC has obtained an asset freeze and other emergency reliefs for security violations from the court against the against StraightPath Venture Partners LLC, StraightPath Management LLC, Brian K. Martinsen, Michael A. Castillero, Francine A. Lanaia, and Eric D. Lachow. Lara S. Mehraban, Acting Director of the New York Regional Office: “We allege that the defendants deceived investors about the pre-IPO shares they held, how much they were charging in fees, and who was controlling the business—all while paying themselves more than $75 million.  We filed this emergency action to stop the ongoing fraud and to preserve assets for investors.”  View full statement below.

“ United States SEC Receives New York Court Approval to Stop Pre-IPO Stock Fraud StraightPath Venture Partners, Raised $410 Million from 2,200 Investors and Pocketed $75 Million 

 



- Article continues below -



Sign Up
Basic Member: $5 Monthly | $60 Yearly
Newsletter Daily 2 pm (Promo): $20 Monthly | $180 Yearly (FP: $680)


The 2024 Investment Day
6th March Hong Kong | 13th March Singapore

Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Boutique Funds, Private Markets & more. Taking place on 6th March 2024 in Hong Kong, 13th March 2024 in Singapore.
Visit | Register here


The 2024 Family Office Summit
10th April Hong Kong | 24th April Singapore

Join 100+ single family offices & family office professionals in Hong Kong & Singapore
Links: 2024 Family Office Summit | Register here





United States SEC Statement

United States

SEC Obtains Emergency Relief to Halt Pre-IPO Stock Fraud Scheme by Unregistered Broker-Dealer.  Defendants, including persons barred from the brokerage industry, allegedly sold shares they didn’t own, and pocketed more than $75 million.

16th May 2022 | The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that it obtained asset freezes and other emergency relief against StraightPath Venture Partners LLC, StraightPath Management LLC, Brian K. Martinsen, Michael A. Castillero, Francine A. Lanaia, and Eric D. Lachow (collectively, the defendants) to halt ongoing securities violations, including allegedly selling pre-initial public offering (IPO) shares they did not own, pocketing undisclosed fees, and commingling investor funds, resulting in Ponzi scheme-like payments. The relief arose from fraud and registration charges filed by the SEC.

The SEC alleges that the defendants, running an unregistered broker-dealer with a vast network of sales agents, raised at least $410 million from more than 2,200 investors from November 2017 through February 2022.  The SEC also alleges that the defendants repeatedly told investors that each investment would be kept separate and that they were charging no upfront fees, but the defendants freely commingled investor funds, paid themselves more than $75 million, and paid their sales agents nearly $48 million from illegal, undisclosed markups on the pre-IPO shares that were, in some cases, as high as 100 percent.  The SEC alleges that a share deficit exists of at least $14 million across the funds.  The defendants also allegedly concealed from investors that two of the three founders, Castillero and Lanaia, ran the funds despite being barred from the brokerage industry.  When SEC staff sought copies of the emails sent by the defendants’ sales agents during its investigation, rather than producing them, Castillero and Martinsen allegedly deleted them from their servers and texted that “an a***hole regulator would have a field day” with a particular e-mail.

“We allege that the defendants deceived investors about the pre-IPO shares they held, how much they were charging in fees, and who was controlling the business—all while paying themselves more than $75 million,” said Lara S. Mehraban, Acting Director of the New York Regional Office.  “We filed this emergency action to stop the ongoing fraud and to preserve assets for investors.”

The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, charges the defendants with violating antifraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws.  The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, return of allegedly ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties.  The SEC obtained a court order to freeze the assets of Martinsen, Castillero, Lanaia, StraightPath Venture Partners, and StraightPath Management.  The order further temporarily enjoins the defendants from violating these provisions of the federal securities laws and orders them not to destroy any additional relevant documents.  A hearing on the SEC’s application, which also seeks the appointment of a receiver, will be held on May 26, 2022.

The SEC’s ongoing investigation is being conducted by Megan R. Genet, Tian Wen, Douglas Smith, Debbie Chan, Lee A. Greenwood, Patricia Schrage, Alistaire Bambach, and Steven G. Rawlings of the New York Regional Office, with assistance from Suman Beros.  It is being supervised by Sheldon L. Pollock.  The litigation will be led by Mr. Greenwood and Philip A. Fortino.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of Ronald Krietzman, Michael McAuliffe, and Stephen DeBella of the NYRO Broker-Dealer and Exchange Program (BDX), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Office of the Montana State Auditor, Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, and the New Jersey Bureau of Securities.




Managing $20 million to $3 billion. Investing $3 million to $300 million.
For Investment Managers, Hedge Funds, Boutique Funds, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Professional Investors, Family Offices, Private Bankers & Advisors, sign up today. Subscribe to Caproasia and receive the latest news, data, insights & reports, events & programs daily at 2 pm.

Join Events & Find Services
Join Investments, Private Wealth, Family Office events in Hong Kong, Singapore, Asia-wide. Find hard-to-find $3 million to $300 million financial & investment services at The Financial Centre | TFC. Find financial, investment, private wealth, family office, real estate, luxury investments, citizenship, law firms & more.  List hard-to-find financial & private wealth services.

Have a product launch? Promote a product or service? List your service at The Financial Centre | TFC. Join interviews & editorial and be featured on Caproasia.com or join Investments, Private Wealth, Family Office events. Contact us at [email protected] or [email protected]

Caproasia.com | The leading source of data, research, information & resource for financial professionals, investment managers, professional investors, family offices & advisors to institutions, billionaires, UHNWs & HNWs. Covering capital markets, investments and private wealth in Asia. How do you invest $3 million to $300 million? How do you manage $20 million to $3 billion of assets?



Quick Links


2021 Data Release
2020 List of Private Banks in Hong Kong
2020 List of Private Banks in Singapore
2020 Top 10 Largest Family Office
2020 Top 10 Largest Multi-Family Offices
2020 Report: Hong Kong Private Banks & Asset Mgmt - $4.49 Trillion
2020 Report: Singapore Asset Mgmt - $3.48 Trillion AUM


For Investors | Professionals | Executives
Latest data, reports, insights, news, events & programs
Everyday at 2 pm
Direct to your inbox
Save 2 to 8 hours per week. Organised for success

Register Below

For CEOs, Heads, Senior Management, Market Heads, Desk Heads, Financial Professionals, Investment Managers, Asset Managers, Fund Managers, Hedge Funds, Boutique Funds, Analysts, Advisors, Wealth Managers, Private Bankers, Family Offices, Investment Bankers, Private Equity, Institutional Investors, Professional Investors

Get Ahead in 60 Seconds. Join 10,000 +
Save 2 to 8 hours weekly. Organised for Success.

Sign Up / Register


    InvestorProfessionalFamily OfficeExecutive


    SubscriptionMembershipEvents


    Professional InvestorPrivate WealthFamily OfficePrivate BankingWealth ManagementInvestmentsAlternativesPrivate MarketsCapital MarketsESG & SICEO & EntrepreneursTax, Legal & RisksHNW & UHNWs Insights










    Web links may be disabled on mobile for security.
    Please click on desktop.










    Caproasia Users

    • Manage $20 million to $3 billion of assets
    • Invest $3 million to $300 million
    • Advise institutions, billionaires, UHNWs & HNWs

    Caproasia Platforms | 11,000 Investors & Advisors

    Monthly Roundtable & Networking

    Family Office Programs

    The 2024 Investment Day

    • March 2024 - Hong Kong
    • March 2024 - Singapore
    • June 2024 - Hong Kong
    • June 2024 - Singapore
    • Sept 2024 - Hong Kong
    • Sept 2024 - Singapore
    • Visit: The Investment Day | Register: Click here

    Caproasia Summits

    Contact Us

    For Enquiries, Membership
    [email protected], [email protected]

    For Listing, Subscription
    [email protected], [email protected]

    For Press Release, send to:
    [email protected]

    For Events & Webinars
    [email protected]

    For Media Kit, Advertising, Sponsorships, Partnerships
    [email protected]

    For Research, Data, Surveys, Reports
    [email protected]

    For General Enquiries
    [email protected]





    Caproasia | Driving the future of Asia
    a financial information technology co.
    since 2014




    Previous articleUnited States SEC Charged Allianz Global Investors & 3 Senior Portfolio Managers for Fraud to Conceal Complex Options Trading Strategy Called Structured Alpha in $11 Billion Fund Earning $550 Million in Fees, Fined $1 Billion and $5 Billion Payout to Investors
    Next articleChina Investigates PBOC Head of Monetary Policy Sun Guofeng, Removed from Office for Suspected Corruption
    Caproasia.com covering capital markets, investments and private wealth in Asia. Our users manage, advise & invest $25 trillion assets in Asia