Edward M. Laborio of Boca Charged in $5 Million Boiler Room Scheme
A boiler room scheme that used high-pressure sales tactics to raise up to $5.7 million from 150 investors through the fraudulent sale of five unregistered securities offerings involving a group of related entities triggered SEC charges against Edward M. Laborio and others. The scheme ran from approximately December 2006 to August 2009.
Laborio, formerly of Boston, Massachusetts, is now a resident of Boca Raton, Florida. The SEC also charged Jonathan Fraiman of Lantana, Florida; Matthew K. Lazar of Westerville, Ohio; and seven entities controlled by Laborio: Envit Capital Group, Inc. (Envit Group); Envit Capital, LLC (Envit LLC); Envit Capital Holdings, Inc. (Envit Holdings); Envit Capital Private Wealth Management, LLC (Envit Wealth); Envit Capital Multi Strategy Mixed Investment Fund I LP (Envit Fund); Aetius Group PLC (Aetius PLC); and Aetius Group LLC (Aetius LLC) (collectively, the Envit Companies).
According to the Commission’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Laborio and Fraiman made multiple misrepresentations and misleading statements to investors about the Envit Companies’ businesses, revenues, financial projections, uses of investor funds, and historical returns generated by Envit Fund, a purported hedge fund that in reality never conducted any operations.
According to the complaint, Laborio also created scripts with sales pitches containing fabricated information. For example, one of Laborio’s scripts allegedly included unfounded claims that investors would receive quarterly dividends and “2-3x return on money.” Laborio also allegedly used investor proceeds to cover gambling losses, to make direct payments to himself, and to cover personal expenses. Fraiman allegedly represented to an investor that Envit Fund, the purported hedge fund, returned 42.9% in 2006 and 43.7% in 2007, even though the hedge fund was not launched until mid-2007 and never conducted any operations.
The complaint further alleges that Lazar raised $585,000 from approximately 10 investors through the sale of a PIPE (private investment in public equity) in Envit Group (one of the five unregistered securities offerings) by misrepresenting that the PIPE guaranteed an annual 8.5% dividend, and that it was safe, like a fixed annuity or a CD.
As a result of the conduct described in the complaint, the Commission alleges that all defendants violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; that Laborio, Fraiman, Lazar and Envit Wealth violated Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act); that Laborio, Fraiman, and Envit Wealth violated Advisers Act Section 206(4) and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder; that Laborio, Fraiman, and Lazar violated Exchange Act Section 15(a)(1); that Laborio, Envit LLC, Envit Group, Envit Holdings, and Aetius PLC violated Securities Act Sections 5(a) and 5(c); that Laborio violated Exchange Act Section 16(a) and Rule 16a-3 thereunder; and that Envit Fund and Aetius LLC violated Section 7(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. The SEC seeks in its action permanent injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, civil penalties, penny stock bars against Laborio, Fraiman, and Lazar, and an officer and director bar against Laborio.
The Commission previously suspended trading in the securities of Envit Group in May 2009 and subsequently revoked the registration of the securities of Envit Group in September 2009.
Fort Lauderdale Securities Litigation Attorney and FINRA Arbitrator
Contact Fort Lauderdale securities litigation attorney Howard N. Kahn, Esq. if you or someone you know has a securities or broker dispute. In addition to being an experienced securities litigation attorney, Mr. Kahn also serves as a FINRA arbitrator for individual investors, brokers, and brokerage firms. You can reach him at 954-321-0176 or online.