United States SEC Charged 3 Individuals in Ponzi Scheme Raising $91 Million from More than 200 Investors from 2021 to 2024 via Vanguard Holdings Group Irrevocable Trust (VHG), Bond International Trading Investment Scheme Provides 3% to 6% Payout Monthly for 12 Months with Principal to be Returned after 14 Months, $46 Million Transferred via Benchmark Capital Holdings Irrevocable Trust, Monthly Payouts were Funded by Investors Money, $5 Million Used to Buy Property, 3 Individuals Charged are Kenneth W. Alexander II, Robert D. Welsh & Caedrynn E. Conner
1st May 2025 | Hong Kong
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged 3 individuals in Ponzi Scheme raising $91 million from more than 200 investors from 2021 to 2024 via Vanguard Holdings Group Irrevocable Trust (VHG), operating a bond international trading investment scheme providing 3% to 6% payout monthly for 12 months with principal to be returned after 14 months. $46 million was transferred via Benchmark Capital Holdings Irrevocable Trust. The monthly payouts were funded by investors money. $5 million was used to buy a property. The 3 individuals charged are Kenneth W. Alexander II, Robert D. Welsh & Caedrynn E. Conner. United States SEC (29/4/25): “The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Dallas-Fort Worth residents Kenneth W. Alexander II, Robert D. Welsh, and Caedrynn E. Conner for operating a Ponzi scheme that raised at least $91 million from more than 200 investors. According to the SEC’s complaint, between approximately May 2021 and February 2024, Alexander and Welsh operated the scheme through a trust controlled by Alexander called Vanguard Holdings Group Irrevocable Trust (VHG). They falsely represented that investors would receive 12 guaranteed monthly payments of between 3% and 6% per month, with the principal investment to be returned after 14 months, according to the complaint. The SEC alleges that Alexander and Welsh held VHG out as a highly profitable international bond trading business with billions in assets, and told investors that the monthly returns were generated from international bond trading and related activities. As alleged, Conner funneled more than $46 million in investor money to VHG through a related investment program that he operated using Benchmark Capital Holdings Irrevocable Trust (Benchmark), which he controlled. According to the complaint, Alexander, Welsh, and Conner also offered investors the option to protect their investments from risk of loss through the purchase of a purported financial instrument they called a “pay order.” In reality, as the SEC alleges, VHG had no material source of revenue, the purported monthly returns were actually Ponzi payments, and the protection offered by the “pay orders” was illusory. Alexander and Conner misappropriated millions in investor funds for personal use, such as Conner’s purchase of a $5 million home, according to the complaint … … The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, charges Alexander, Welsh, and Conner with violating the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against each of the defendants.”
“ United States SEC Charged 3 Individuals in Ponzi Scheme Raising $91 Million from More than 200 Investors from 2021 to 2024 via Vanguard Holdings Group Irrevocable Trust (VHG), Bond International Trading Investment Scheme Provides 3% to 6% Payout Monthly for 12 Months with Principal to be Returned after 14 Months, $46 Million Transferred via Benchmark Capital Holdings Irrevocable Trust, Monthly Payouts were Funded by Investors Money, $5 Million Used to Buy Property, 3 Individuals Charged are Kenneth W. Alexander II, Robert D. Welsh & Caedrynn E. Conner “
United States SEC Charged 3 Individuals in Ponzi Scheme Raising $91 Million from More than 200 Investors from 2021 to 2024 via Vanguard Holdings Group Irrevocable Trust (VHG), Bond International Trading Investment Scheme Provides 3% to 6% Payout Monthly for 12 Months with Principal to be Returned after 14 Months, $46 Million Transferred via Benchmark Capital Holdings Irrevocable Trust, Monthly Payouts were Funded by Investors Money, $5 Million Used to Buy Property, 3 Individuals Charged are Kenneth W. Alexander II, Robert D. Welsh & Caedrynn E. Conner
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