A suspended broker who turned to social media to promote himself online as a successful trader, using the monikers "K$" and "K Money," has pleaded guilty to investment advisor fraud.
Kenneth Thom pleaded guilty March 19 before U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos to fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced by Ramos on June 25, Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced. Thom, 42, of Westfield, New Jersey, faces up to five years in prison.
"Kenneth Thom pretended online to be a successful investor and adviser when in fact he was a suspended broker and grifter," Clayton said in a statement. "He recruited social media followers, convinced them to invest with him, and then stole their money.
"Our Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect investors from fraud no matter where they seek their investment advice," Clayton added. "Especially on social media, we remind investors to always protect themselves from fraud by verifying the credentials of those they invest with, and to always protect investments through due diligence."
Thom was suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in or around January 2011 for failing to pay an arbitration award.
"Thom also admitted around that time to the FBI that he had commingled that investor's money with his own money in a brokerage account that Thom controlled and lost most of the money through unsuccessful trading," according to the Justice Department.
Thom further admitted "that when the investor sought to withdraw her funds, he did not tell the investor that he had lost her money and instead invented fake excuses and then ignored the investor altogether," according to DOJ.
Using the monikers "K$" and "K Money," Thom "described himself as a 'Wall Street veteran,' a 'luminary,' and a 'beacon of knowledge,' and he used his online platforms to sell trading courses and trade suggestions to his followers," DOJ said.
Thom had a Facebook group called, at relevant times, "the 'K$ Trading Group' (the 'K$ Facebook Group'), in which Thom posted the results of his purportedly successful trades," DOJ said.
Beginning in late 2023, Thom invited members of the K$ Facebook Group to participate in "shared accounts" that Thom would manage in exchange for a percentage of the trading profits.
He eventually raised nearly $800,000 from about 67 clients, investing only about $350,000 and diverting most of the remainder for his own personal use, including on travel, dining and luxury goods, DOJ said.
Of the $350,000 that Thom invested, "he lost more than $250,000 trading options, for a net loss of approximately 73% between in or around March 2024 and March 2025," DOJ continued.
To hide these losses, Thom "published false performance updates showing significant gains," DOJ said.
For example, on or around July 3, 2024, Thoms posted in the K$ Facebook Group "that each of his three purported shared accounts was positive year-to-date, with returns ranging from 4% to 120%. In fact, as of the close of the preceding trading day, THOM had lost approximately 31% of the client funds he invested to date," DOJ added.
"In or about January 2025, the name of the K$ Facebook Group was changed to 'AYBABTU' — an acronym for the Internet meme 'all your base are belong to us' — and THOM stopped responding to clients," according to DOJ.
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