The SEC charged former RGT Capital Management financial adviser Ash Narayan of Newport Coast, California with defrauding investors, and obtained a court order freezing his assets and appointing a receiver over The Ticket Reserve, Inc., which the SEC alleges is the business Narayan used in his fraudulent funneling of investor funds to the tune of a $33 million fraud.
According to the Commission's complaint, Narayan, as a managing director of RGT Capital's Irvine, CA office, transferred more than $33 million from clients' accounts to The Ticket Reserve, often without the clients' knowledge or consent, and using forged or unauthorized signatures. A report named NFL QB Mark Sanchez, and MLB pitchers Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt as several high-profile athletes whom Narayan allegedly defrauded.
The SEC also named CEO Richard Harmon and COO John Kaptrosky of The Ticket Reserve in its complaint and court order ordering the frozen assets, and classified the business' cashflow model as "dependent on the fraudulent cash infusions from Narayan's unsuspecting clients."
Investigators also say that, later on, The Ticket Reserve made Ponzi-like payments to existing investors using money from new investors, and that after getting fired from RGT Capital as the result of a firm investigation into the misconduct, Narayan allegedly continued his fraud by redirecting to The Ticket Reserve fake fees he received out of the money taken from client accounts.
The findings state that in exchange for the fraudulent funding, The Ticket Reserve paid Narayan nearly $2 million in hidden compensation and fees, "most of it directly traceable to funds stolen from his clients," and covered up by falsified or backdated documents, sham promissory notes, and other payment mischaracterizations.
Narayan purportedly failed to disclose this and other key conflicts of interest such as his membership on The Ticket Reserve's Board of Directors and ownership of three-plus million shares of company stock to investors. Narayan also allegedly falsely claimed to be a CPA.
Narayan's IAPD report indicates RGT terminated his employment in February 2016 upon discovering a series of misconduct, including breach of fiduciary duty and violation of RGT policies, practices, and procedures.
If you have invested with former RGT Capital Management financial adviser Ash Narayan in this Ponzi-like scheme, or have had money transferred out of your investment account without your knowledge or consent, and this fraudulent activity has proven harmful to your investments or interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.