Fresno Man Arrested For Investment Fraud Scheme

A Fresno man, Janamjot Singh Sodhi, aka Jimmy Singh, was arrested on September 15, 2011 on an outstanding warrant for an investment fraud scheme. According to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, Singh, through his company, Elite Financial, Inc., “enticed investors into giving him money for investment opportunities, but used the monies to pay off previous investors and for his own personal use.” The alleged fraud began in April 2010 and amounts to $2.4 million.

It’s interesting to note that investors could have potentially avoided problems in this case had they taken steps to confirm the status of Singh and Elite Financial by doing due diligence with state agencies before parting with their money. Had they done so, they might have discovered that Singh and Elite Financial were the subject of a Desist And Refrain Order issued by the California Department of Corporations on January 9, 2009,more than a year before the alleged fraud began.

The Desist And Refrain Order notes that the corporate status of Elite Financial Inc. was suspended by the Secretary of State in 2008, that Singh had previously been disciplined by the New York Stock Exchange in 2005 for misappropriating $474,700 of client funds, that he had failed to return more than $100,000 in Elite Financial client funds, and that Singh and Elite Financial had not secured a securities broker- dealer license or license to act as an investment advisor in the State.

As a result, Singh and Elite Financial were ordered to desist and refrain from acting as an investment advisor or effecting transactions in securities.

Schein & Cai handles investment fraud litigation. Contact us for a free consultation.

Find us on the web at www.sacattorneys.com.

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