SEC: 38 Entities Feigned Legitimacy as U.S. Advisers Through False Filings to Lure Retail Investors

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Aug. 27, 2026, that it charged 38 entities with making material misrepresentations in Forms ADV filed between 2025 and 2026 to falsely portray themselves as legitimate advisory firms, alleging violations of Sections 204(a) and 207 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 in complaints filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The SEC alleges defendants listed nonexistent Colorado addresses, disconnected phone numbers, claimed audits by two accounting firms not found in any public registry, and in some cases were marketed with fake SEC-registration certificates. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, conduct-based injunctions barring the filing of Forms ADV as exempt reporting advisers, and civil penalties, and it noted the ERA filings of the 38 entities have been removed from its website. The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Assistance issued an investor alert on this matter, and the SEC acknowledged assistance from the FBI and its Operation Level Up.

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