The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an emergency action Monday charging a recent college graduate with orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that targeted college students and young investors.
The ongoing Ponzi scheme and offering fraud was conducted by Syed Arham Arbab, a former student at the University of Georgia, and two entities under his operation and control, Artis Proficio Capital Investments LLC and Artis Proficio Capital Management LLC.
The SEC is seeking an asset freeze and other emergency relief.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Arbab, 22, conducted the fraud from a fraternity house near the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia.
Arbab allegedly offered investments in a purported hedge fund called “Artis Proficio Capital,” which he claimed had generated returns of as much as 56% in the prior year and for which investor funds were guaranteed up to $15,000.
Arbab also allegedly sold ‘bond agreements’ that promised investors the return of their money along with a fixed rate of return. The SEC’s complaint alleges that at least eight college students, recent graduates or their family members invested more than $269,000 in these investments.